A New Hope
by Obsidianna
Summary: Something goes terribly wrong when the Jolly Roger falls into the portal. There's an explotion and, next thing Emma knows, is that she's on a desert island, trapped... with Regina Mills. The two women will have to learn how to work together in order to find a way out, although it may prove to not be so easy.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This story is purely fictional. Any resemblances with reality are merely a coincidence.**

**A/N: So I've been working on this story for so many months now that I can't even remember. I finally think it's worth posting so I hope you all guys like it. Also, I would like to credit the person who made the image cover for the story (I forgot to mention it in tumblr). I found the image in google and retouched it but still. So, whoever made it: thank you for your beautiful job and I hope you don't mind me borrowing it for a little. Finally, If you'd like to leave me a review to let me know your thoughts on the story so far, I'd be thrilled, really haha. Enjoy!**

"HOLD ON TIGHT!" Hook yells at the top of his lungs and turns the helm starboard abruptly.

He barely gives Emma time enough to react before the ship turns around ninety degrees all of a sudden and causes the people aboard to lose balance completely. She manages to grip a rope just in time but neither Mary Margaret nor Gold is that lucky. They both land ungracefully in a heap on the floor and have a hard time picking themselves up again with the ship being pulled so strongly toward the vortex of the portal.

That is where they are heading, straight into the lion's den to save Henry, her son… and Regina's.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emma catches sight of the former Evil Queen, who has her hands wrapped around a rope and holding on so tightly to it that her knuckles are turning white. She looks rather pale but Emma can't tell if it's due to the frantic swaying of the ship or something else entirely.

Regina must have sensed her fixed gaze on her because she turns her head to the side and their eyes lock for what seems to be a very long minute. Emma is downright expecting a disapproving look, since it's coming from the Mayor, so she frowns when she's greeted by another kind of look. One she does not have the time to identify because Hook breaks her out of her absorption with yet another yell, "Here we go, lads!"

Hook steers the wheel and grins excitedly at the prospect of returning to Neverland again. The ship heads straight to the portal and, once the bowsprit makes contact with the green swirling waters of the ocean, it begins its descent towards the unknown.

Emma has to shut her eyes closed a moment later because the whirling motion of the portal creates a whipping wind that lashes almost painfully against her face. She also discovers that the sound of the water combined with the sucking motion of the portal makes hearing almost impossible.

She's practically incapacitated without being able to see or hear, yet she doesn't need any of those two senses to know when something's gone wrong. And something _has_ gone wrong because there's a sudden pull from below, as if a gigantic hand had just gripped the bottom of the ship and yanked it downwards abruptly. Then someone shouts something she cannot quite hear, which prompts her to crack an eye open to see what's going on. But when she does, all she sees is a searing white light exploding all around them, and then her whole world fades to black.

**I**

When Emma opens her eyes again she does so with a start.

She doesn't recognize her surroundings and that is enough to make the former bounty hunter spring to her feet in complete alert. She pays no mind to the pain in her abdomen or the fire raging in her throat.

Emma needs to find out where she is but, more importantly, where the rest of her family is.

Taking a look around, Emma notices she's standing on a beach and that she's trapped between the sea and a lush green forest at her back.

There's no sign of any other living soul in that beach and Emma's heart is beginning to beat faster in her chest, the thought of being alone in that strange place too much for her to bear.

She takes an involuntary step forward and realizes that her feet weight more than normal. Gazing down, Emma sees that she's drenched from head to toes.

Her green eyes travel back to the never-ending mass of water before her and she sees something that catches her attention.

The blonde dashes toward the shoreline with her heart hammering in her chest. She does not dare to break eye contact with what it would appear to be a dark haired head floating above the surface of the water.

She dashes toward the sea.

Her feet struggle to carry her through the crashing waves and, eventually, she has to dive in order to go on.

Emma braces as fast as she can, trying to not let the waves carry her away, but it proves to be a hard task with the waves growing larger and hitting harder against her face. She has to stop swimming every two seconds and stick her head out of the water to take big gulps of air.

She's tired and fighting against the tide is becoming almost impossible, but she is not about to give up. It's not in her nature to give up on the people she loves and she's not going to start today.

She dives just in time to dodge another wave and comes to the surface a second later, gasping for air and frantically kicking with her feet to keep on floating.

Emma searches around with her eyes for the person she'd seen from the shore and spots the black haired head resting against a wooden board just some meters away.

"Mary Margaret!" Emma lunges forward and swims until her hands come in contact with a solid surface. She wraps her left hand around one side of the board and uses her free one to brush the wet and errant dark locks away from Snow's face. "Mary-" Emma gasps both in surprise and in horror when she sees that it is not Mary Margaret but Regina who she's looking at and that the woman has a large and bad looking gash on her forehead.

There is blood oozing from the wound and it covers all the right side of Regina's unusually pale cheek. The water is keeping the wound open and the blood flowing freely.

Emma presses two fingers to Regina's neck and checks for a pulse. She sighs in relief when she realizes that the other woman is alive, albeit unconscious.

"Regina," Emma draws her attention back to the shore as she absently nudges the other woman by the shoulder. "Please, wake up." But Regina doesn't stir nor shows any sign of having heard her.

It dawns on Emma that she is going to have to carry her back to the shore, so she tries to calculate the distance between the shoreline and them.

It doesn't look good.

"Come on, Regina!" Emma grunts and tears the brunette away from the wooden board.

The moment she's freed, Regina's body begins to sink down so Emma drapes an arm below her chin and holds her head above the surface. She drags them both through the surf with whatever strength she has left and, when they are near enough to the shore, Emma lets the own waves spit them out.

Emma lands on her back with Regina's unconscious body splayed half on top of her. Her chest is heaving and she's desperately trying to catch her breath again.

When she recovers somewhat, Emma props herself up on her elbows and takes Regina by the shoulders to roll her over onto her back.

Emma checks the brunette for any other injuries, aside from the gash on her forehead. She notices that there are some bruises on her arms and on the right side of her neck but, other than that, the older woman seems to be fine.

The wound on her forehead hasn't ceased to bleed since she pulled Regina out of the water. If anything, it's bleeding more profusely now, and it's staining the right side of the brunette's cheek again.

She'll have to bandage it somehow.

Emma takes a look around, trying to determine if there is anything she can use as bandage, but all she sees is a vast ocean at her back, white sand at her feet and a lush green semi-tropical forest in front of her. There is absolutely nothing remotely close to civilization here, just wilderness.

And no bandages.

Emma looks down at her own drenched clothes. Well, it'll have to do.

She rips the fabric of her shirt and uses it first to clean Regina's cheek a little and then wraps it around the brunette's head. She ties the ends into a knot and, when she's done, Emma contemplates her handiwork. It's improvised and messy but it'll do.

Emma sits back on her heels and turns her head over her shoulder. Where on earth are they? Is this Neverland?

Suddenly, there's a groan and the body beneath her begins to stir.

Emma whips her head around again, eyes widening as she sees the brunette stirring. "Regina?"

Regina blinks up a few times, clearly disoriented. She shows no sign of having heard Emma call her name. Instead, she takes a hand to her forehead and groans in pain again.

"What the hell happened?" Regina growls, her voice deep and throaty. Her eyes switch from her now blood stained hand to Emma's green ones. She raises a questioning eyebrow to the blonde.

"You're hurt," Emma answers vaguely and Regina's eyebrow rises even higher. Emma feels the need to elaborate further. "It's nothing serious, though... I bandaged it already."

Emma slides her palms down her soaked jeans and stands up. Then, she outstretches her hand for Regina to take but the woman throws her a death glare. Emma takes the hint and drops her hand, smacking it loudly against her thigh.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Sheriff." Regina replies and moves to get on her feet, but she moves so fast that her head spins dangerously and she sways on the spot.

Emma leaps forward and catches her before she can fall to the ground again.

"Where are we?" Regina drawls, her head resting momentarily on Emma's shoulder and her eyes closed, trying to make the blurry shapes in her vision become focused once more.

Emma sighs because the situation seems to be getting worse and worse by the second. "I was hoping you could tell _me_."

Regina blinks a few more times, until the two blurry horizons in her vision merge into one. Then, she pushes Emma away by the shoulders – as if the blonde hasn't just saved her from toppling head first to the ground - and takes a proper look around.

No. She doesn't recognize this place at all but, somehow, the thought doesn't disturb her as much as it does Emma.

Regina has been to different lands during her rule in Fairytale Land, so she's long past the fear of finding herself in a complete different place. Which is most certainly not the case for Emma who, until some months ago, didn't know anything else than the busy streets of a city.

"Well, we'll clearly not in Storybrooke anymore." Regina quips and takes a few steps forward, gazing suspiciously at the thick and lush forest that marks the limit between the beach and the vegetation.

It's a nice place, to be honest. The sea at their back is a clear and almost transparent blue, the sand below them is so white that it could very well be talc, and the trees standing tall just a few steps away from them are mostly palms and bushes.

If only they weren't on a quest to save their kidnapped son and, now, the rest of the crew as well, Emma would probably refuse to leave this place.

"Funny," Emma says. She can't believe the woman's sass is still intact after almost drowning. One would almost expect the rest of the world to act more seriously but, then again, we're talking about Regina. The rules don't commonly apply to her. "Did we make it? Is this Neverland?"

Regina turns on her heels to look at Emma. The expression of annoyance the blonde had just been wearing a second ago is now replaced by a look of such hope that the former Evil Queen feels almost bad for shattering when she dryly answers, "No."

As foreseen, Emma's face falls and her shoulders slump. She's beginning to grow restless and Regina's perfectly put together stance is not helping at all.

Regina takes a step closer to the blonde, until she's practically breathing in her face. "I _don't know_ where we are, Miss Swan."

Emma's heart stops beating for a few seconds and all the color seems to drain from her face, "What?"

"You heard me, dear."

A million thoughts battle for dominance in Emma's head, trying to make themselves be heard. They seem to weight a ton because she starts to feel light headed. Yes, they are heavy thoughts. Very, very heavy…

"_Miss Swan!_" Emma shakes her head, coming to. "Are you even listening?" Regina asks, her cheeks flushed in anger. Leave it to Emma Swan to tune out while she is talking. "I swear you are like a child sometimes," Regina runs a hand through her wet brown locks and lets out a puff of air, trying to calm herself.

"Sorry," Emma mumbles, tracing a random path with her foot on the sand.

"Yes, well. Try not to zone out again while I'm speaking. As I was saying, I don't think this place is Neverland but there is only one way to find out."

"Which is what?"

"By entering the forest," Regina replies, her voice enigmatically low. At Emma's quizzical look, she decides to add, "It shall be easy to prove if this is Neverland or not."

"How so?"

"Well, dear. If you enter that forest and you get tackled by a bunch of filthy savages in the form of children, then you're in Neverland."

**II**

It seems, Emma realizes, that they only time she and Regina can get things done without bickering for hours like an old married couple, is when their son is in danger or Storybrooke is about to be blown off the map. Thankfully – or not, really – this time is one of those two occasions. So, when Emma suggests entering the woods and moving up to higher ground, Regina simply nods her head and follows her close behind.

It's almost an hour later that they reach the peak of a hill, the highest they could find.

"David!" Emma calls at the top of her lungs for the hundredth time. She's been looking for her family all the way uphill, but no one had answered back so far. "Mary Margaret!"

Emma waits for an answer, her eyes travelling back and forth desperately, but is met with only silence. She sighs and drops her hands in defeat, smacking them loudly against her nearly dried jeans. Then, she looks up at the sky and notices that it's already dusk. Night will fall upon them soon and they still have no ship, no Henry and no shelter.

Regina won't like spending the night out in the open like some wilding.

Where _is_ Regina, anyway? Emma looks around for the brunette and finds her standing in what looks to be a cliff, just some meters away from where she is.

Emma walks up to join the older woman and notices that it is in fact a cliff, one that overlooks the sea and a beautiful beach with large stones guarding the shoreline. What she also notices is that Regina seems tense and that she hasn't even acknowledged her presence yet.

Maybe she's a fool for worrying – after all, Emma doesn't think Regina would give it a second thought if it was the other way around – but the look on the brunette's face and the way her eyes are fixed on the shore below makes Emma's stomach twirl and she has the sudden need to say something.

"What are you looking at?" Emma asks, moving over to stand beside the brunette and following Regina's line of sight.

Her own green orbs land on the calm and deserted beach so many meters below the cliff and she wonders what is it about that place that has the normally stoic brunette looking suddenly so pale.

"There," Regina points to the beach with her finger.

Emma narrows her eyes and tries to focus on finding something odd or that looks out of place, anything at all, so that she can understand why it seems like she's missing the big elephant in the room.

But she doesn't find anything.

It's just a beach, a plain old beach with large stones and dark sea waves bathing its shores.

Suddenly, Emma's heart leaps in her chest as she trains her eyes more intensely on the dark waves dying upon the shoreline. She finally realizes that the beach they are overlooking is not part of the island they're currently on.

It's another place entirely.

Emma turns to Regina, her eyes widening in sudden fear. "What is that place?"

"That, dear," Regina begins without averting her eyes from the beach, "is Neverland."

"Neverland…" Well, Emma thinks, at least they found the goddamn place. Now it's just a matter of making their way down to that beach because, unless Regina can do some of her hocus pocus and fly them safely to the shore, jumping off the cliff is not a plausible alternative.

She chances a look at the setting sun and ponders on what to do next. It's getting dark already and, by the look of it, getting down to that shore is going to be a long trek downhill.

Emma wants to go after Henry right now, every cell in her body is screaming for her to get a move on, but the rational part in her is telling her otherwise.

She used to be a bounty hunter, in what seems to be like a million years ago, so she knows by experience that chasing someone under the veil of darkness in an unfamiliar place is never the best course of action.

Especially if there are trolls - and whatnot - lurking about in the woods.

"C'mon, Regina," Emma turns around and begins her way back to where they came from, but Regina's voice halts her in mid stride.

"Where are you going?"

The brunette has her arms crossed, whether to warm herself or to further show her displeasure at her and the situation they're currently in, Emma doesn't know.

"It's getting dark," Emma says, pointing with her head to the horizon, where the sun has already set.

Regina unfolds her arms and takes a few steps closer to the blonde. "We need to find Henry."

"And we _will,_ but in the morning."

It doesn't take a genius to notice that, out of the two of them, Emma is being the rational one. In her desperation to find Henry, Regina is missing the larger picture… terribly.

"No," she says, shaking her head and squaring her shoulders, which would normally make her utterly terrifying but now just makes her look like a stubborn child. "If you want to go and sleep while _my_ _son_ is in danger then you're welcome to it, Sheriff, but _I'm_ going after him."

Emma sighs in aggravation. Of course Regina isn't going to make it any easier on her. "Regina… don't be foolish. Henry needs both his mothers and believe me, if you go after him right now, you will most probably trip with a rock in the dark and break your neck. And no matter how much I would like to see that sometimes, I don't think Henry would appreciate it if you died on my watch."

Regina snorts and suddenly moves into Emma's personal space, clearly sizing her up. "Oh, so now _you're_ in charge?"

"Yeah," Emma takes a step forward, breaths almost touching, not letting Regina get the upper hand. "Apparently I am, since I'm the only one thinking clearly right now."

"Ok, sheriff." Regina begins with a lopsided smirk on her features, "Since apparently you're the brains now, what do you suggest we do?"

Emma takes a moment to ponder on their options. "Well, since it's already dark and we don't know where we are, I suggest we prepare for the night and, first thing in the morning, we'll go after him."

For a whole of five minutes, Regina stays eerie silent. She just stares at Emma with her features perfectly schooled, making it literally impossible for the blonde to make out what's going on in that brain of hers.

Emma is at the point where she doesn't think Regina will answer when, finally, she does, "Very well," is all the brunette says, voice devoid of all emotion.

Emma's mouth falls agape. She was not certainly waiting for the older woman to agree with her proposal, at least not at her first try. She was convinced she'd have to either pull forth some very convincing arguments to reach an agreement, or knock the brunette unconscious in order to get her to sleep. So she's incredibly surprised when Regina seems to come to reason without putting up a fight first.

"Ok, great." Emma says, sitting down on the floor without any more preambles. When she sees that the other woman is still standing above her with no indications that she's going to move any time soon, Emma pats the patch of grass next to her and says, "Unless you're some sort of human-bat that can sleep while standing, I suggest you lie down on the floor."

"Don't try me, Sheriff," Regina says in a menacing tone but she complies nonetheless.

The brunette sits uneasily on the grass, as far away from Emma as she can without falling off the cliff. Regina lies down on her left side, her back facing Emma.

"Goodnight, Regina." Emma says but the brunette doesn't reply. She shakes her head incredulously and turns around too, both women facing opposite sides.

Emma is thankful that they, at least, ended up on a semi-tropical island because, otherwise, sleeping out in the open would certainly prove to be a very difficult task without any kind of blanket or body warmth. And, with Regina as her only companion, she is sure that it's going to be a whole lot easier to skin a pack of wolves to use their skin as blankets than to get the brunette to scoot closer to her.

Emma shuts her eyes closed and wishes for the morning to arrive soon.

**III**

When Regina opens her eyes, she finds that the first vestiges of light are beginning to appear on the horizon. The sun is not up yet but the sky is turning a beautiful shade of pink already. It's a wonderful sight, if she has to be honest, and she has the sudden impulse to comment it with the blonde but, when she turns around, Regina realizes that she's alone.

Emma is gone.

Regina's throat constricts in pure anger and her eyes turn into slits. It is so Emma Swan to flee when things like this happen. She should have known that Emma would leave her behind and search for Henry without her. She should have done the same, she should have waited until the blonde was asleep and go after Henry herself.

She had been an idiot to trust the Sherriff but, then again, when wasn't she a credulous fool? Every time Regina had trusted someone else with something important, they had betrayed her in the worst possible way. Snow, Jefferson, Whale, Rumple, and the list went on and on. And, now, she'd have to add Emma Swan's name to that list.

Regina springs to her feet and takes in the forest in front of her. Maybe if she is fast enough she can catch up with the blonde, maybe even outrun her.

The brunette sighs and mentally reprimands herself for always falling in the same stupid trap. She walks toward the shrubbery and, she's about to cross the straight line that the trees make, when a voice stops her abruptly.

"Where are you going?"

It's Emma Swan's voice.

Regina turns on her heels and looks at the blonde woman in confusion.

What is she doing here? Isn't she supposed to be half way downhill by now?

Regina looks back at the forest and then at the younger woman again.

"You thought I'd gone after Henry without you," It's not a question, it's a statement, and Regina suddenly feels very exposed and stupid. "Geez, Regina." Emma runs a hand through her tousled blonde locks and moves closer to her. "I knew you'd want to go after him before sunrise, so I thought I'd look for something to eat since you most probably wouldn't even care to acknowledge the fact that you haven't eaten in more than a day," Emma lifts her hands to show the brunette the bananas she's holding in her arms. "Here, eat." Emma angrily throws Regina a banana and walks past her, heading into the forest.

Regina catches the fruit as she can and stares blankly at the empty place Emma left behind. What the hell did just happen?

**IV**

"I'm… Emma, I'm…" Regina mumbles under her breath, again and again, eyes downcast and struggling with her mind to get the words past her lips.

It's not like she hasn't apologized to the woman before because she can perfectly recall a time when she did, clear and loud. It's what happened _after_ that apology that taunts Regina's mind.

For one like her, apologies are a display of weakness; the wanting of forgiveness just another way of giving in to the will of another. Asking for forgiveness and waiting to be forgiven is a game in which Regina is not used to be a player, let alone a winner.

But she now knows, if the last few months in Storybrooke have taught her anything, that sometimes it's necessary to give in… to _trust_. To trust that in her display of weakness she will not be submitted or hurt for it.

In other words, she has to trust that the blonde woman will not hurt her again once she says the words and admits her faults.

"Emma," Regina calls, this time louder. She's looking at where she steps, so she doesn't see that the other woman has come to a halt in front of her. Regina bumps into her and she staggers back a few steps, somehow managing not to lose her balance. "What the hell do you think…" but she trails off when she notices the look in Emma's eyes. "What?"

Emma points with her head to the vast sea extending in front of them. From where she's standing, Regina can also see a faint purplish glimmer in the air.

The brunette narrows her eyes and moves closer to the edge of the island, trying to decipher what the purplish glimmer is.

They have finally managed to find the lowest terrain in the island that is the closest to the visible shores of Neverland. What they were not expecting to find is that, on top of the sea separating the two lands, there is a purplish veil that clearly divides one land from the other.

The division is a clear straight line, so incredibly clear that you can easily tell where the blue transparent waters from this island end and where the dark sea of Neverland begins.

"No," Regina whispers feeling her heart sinking in her chest, "That can't be possible."

"That's magic, isn't it?" Emma asks, logically the last to put two and two together when magic is concerned, but rapidly catching up.

"Yes," Regina forces through gritted teeth, glaring at the purplish veil.

"And why does it look like a magic wall… wall of magic… whatever?"

Regina turns her head to look at her. She gives Emma a look so hard and unforgiving that Emma feels like she's facing the Mayor all over again.

"Because, Sheriff, that's precisely what it is," Regina spits. "A wall," she gestures with her hand to the veil, "A wall that acts as a division from this land and the next."

Emma takes a moment to let the new information sink in before replying. "Okay… so that takes building a boat and sailing off to Neverland off the 'to do' list, right?"

Regina reassumes her glaring at the veil. "Indeed, it does."

"But you can still puff us out of here, right?" Emma asks, for some reason feeling a tad more anxious than she did before.

Regina suddenly turns to look at Emma. Gone is the steely look from her eyes. What Emma sees swirling in those brown orbs now looks a lot like…

_Fear_.

The brunette doesn't utter a word, though. She flicks her wrist in a way that Emma has seen her do before and, then, extends her palm out to the sky.

Emma doesn't know what to expect but she's sure that, whatever Regina tried to do, didn't work.

Regina furrows her eyebrows as she stares at her open palm.

She tries again.

Once more nothing happens.

She tries to cast the simplest of spells.

Nothing. Nada.

Regina looks up from her stretched out hand to Emma's green eyes. The brunette's expression says it all.

Emma's eyes widen as realization hits her square in the face, "There's no magic here."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: First off, I want to thank all those who favorited, followed and reviewed this story. It means the world to me. So thank you! Secondly, in the first chapter I forgot to mention that this is un-betaed and I'm not an English native speaker (as I'm sure many must have noticed by now lol). So if anyone would like to beta this story, give me a shout-out! Ok, enjoy!**

Emma turns on her heels and lets out an irritated sigh, "Come on, Regina!" The brunette is at least a good ten meters behind her, practically dragging herself through the bushes and swearing to do unspeakable things to the blonde if she manages to get a hold of her. "We need to find water!"

It is probably the eleventh time that Emma repeats that sentence to the brunette, to no avail. The woman simply refuses to cooperate.

Ever since they woke up, some time before sunrise, Emma has been insisting that they need to find a source of water. It is of outmost importance that they do, unless they want to die of dehydration. So far though they haven't been lucky, but with Regina's pace, Emma is sure that they have only covered one quarter of the island, which means that they have three quarters yet to cover, preferably before midday when the sun will be at its highest point in the sky.

Regina kicks a log out of her way angrily and looks up at the blonde, fury swirling in her brown eyes, "I am telling you, _Emma_, that I cannot feel my feet anymore!" she yells angrily again but continues her way uphill, where Emma is standing and waiting impatiently for her.

"Well, that is entirely your fault, _Your Majesty_!" Emma shouts back, "I told you they'd get swollen but you insisted on wearing those ridiculous high heels!"

Regina finally manages to catch up with her, breathing a little more elaborately than normal. "Well, forgive me for wanting to protect myself against whatever vermin that could be hiding in this stupid forest!"

Emma smiles lopsidedly at the brunette's obvious displeasure. It's somewhat refreshing to see the usually perfectly put together former Queen looking so out of her element for a change. "At least you wouldn't be complaining about your feet every five seconds," she quips.

Regina's eyes widen and she smirks, ready to fight fire with fire. "No, but I would be about an injured foot."

Suddenly, something calls Emma's attention. She tries to discern what it is but Regina's voice is distracting her, "Shut up."

Regina's mouth falls agape, she'll be damned if she lets anyone treat her so rudely. "Excuse me?"

"No," Emma waves her off, "just… just be quiet for a second."

Regina is about to come back with a retort that will surely render the blonde speechless, when she sees Emma's expression turn very serious. "What is it?" she asks, trying to follow Emma's line of vision.

The blonde trains her ears and tries to turn in the direction of the sound, "Do you hear that?" she asks, her eyes scanning the area thoroughly in search for the source of the sound.

Regina closes her eyes for a second and tries to focus. She can hear birds chirping, leaves rustling and something else that sounds a lot like…

"Yes," Regina opens her eyes to find that Emma is staring at her, waiting for her response, "Yes, I do." The brunette replies, excited. "Is it water?"

Emma grins at the brunette and, without wasting another second, turns around and begins her way downhill, "Come on, let's go!" She calls animatedly to the other woman.

Regina smiles in spite of herself and follows after the blonde.

**I**

When Regina emerges out of the woods and takes in the beautiful sight of the river and the rocks surrounding it she smiles again, this time in contentment. Apparently, water and a beautiful landscape have the power to steal a smile or two to the fuming brunette.

While Regina takes her sweet time to gaze at her surroundings, Emma wastes none in running toward the rocks and dropping to her knees to practically dive head first into the water.

The blonde uses both her hands as a makeshift vase and takes eager gulps of water to quench her thirst. When she's sated, Emma turns her head over her shoulder and motions with her hand for Regina to join her.

Even though it's very un-queenly to drop to her knees and drink water from a river, Regina does so without giving it a second thought. She hadn't realized she was so thirsty until the first drop of water had come in contact with her tongue.

Regina sighs and wipes her hand across her mouth, having quenched her thirst. Then, she flops down next to Emma and closes her eyes. She's tired and her feet are aching.

When they'd got on the Jolly Roger, Regina had not been dressed for world hopping and now she is paying the price dearly. Jimmy Choo shoes are her favorite footwear but, right now, she's dreading them so hard she thinks she might throw them into the river any time soon.

"Ready to go?"

Regina opens her eyes and glares openly at the blonde. She's pretty sure that the younger woman is taking some pleasure out of her misery, but she's Regina Mills and she'll be damned before she admits defeat to anyone.

"Of course, dear," Regina's smile is so fake that Emma chuckles in spite of herself.

"Ok, great," the blonde gets on her feet and takes a look around. "I was thinking that maybe we should continue down the riverside."

Regina nods because is not like it makes much difference to her anyway. They had been searching for Emma's family first. When they didn't find them, they started looking for the highest hill in the land to know how big the island was. When they discovered Neverland, they began searching for a way to cross over. When that didn't work, they started looking for water and now that they found it, what were they looking for exactly?

Regina has the vague impression that not even Emma herself knows what she's looking for. It's possibly the need to feel like she's doing something what prompts her to keep moving and, honestly, Regina has to agree with the blonde in that department. There's no way in hell she can sit around doing nothing while Henry is away from her. At least, even if they don't have a clue what they are doing anymore, they are still doing something.

"Oh God, look!" Emma stops abruptly in front of her, almost causing the brunette to bump into her.

"What's that, dear?" She asks, a little irritated with the blonde's sudden optimistic outburst.

Emma walks a few steps further and points to a large wooden surface that's somewhat visible through the trees, "I think it's a cabin."

Regina sees it then. There, partially hidden by the large trees there's a small wooden cabin. Relief instantly floods her and she sighs. If there's a cabin it also means that there're people living there, people that know these lands and who can probably help them find a way out.

"Should we…?"

Emma nods at the brunette, "Yeah. Let's just go and see who lives there." Before either of them can move, Emma smirks and says, "Who knows? Maybe they'll even have something to eat."

Regina chuckles to herself, "Always thinking about food, aren't you, dear?"

Emma tilts her head, "One of my weaknesses." It's amazing how the mere thought of knowing that there are other people besides them in the island helps to lift both their spirits. "After you, _Your Majesty._"

Just a couple of minutes later, Emma is knocking on the wooden door of the cabin. She steps back to stand next to the brunette and they wait in silence, completely expectant for a few minutes, but no one answers.

"Maybe they didn't hear," the blonde says and knocks again, this time louder.

Once more, no one answers and, just when Emma is ready to bang on the door again, Regina squeezes the door knob and flings the door open without preamble.

The brunette slips through the crack and disappears from sight, leaving a slightly bemused Emma behind. The blonde bites the inside of her cheek, "Or we could do that," she says ironically and immediately follows the older woman inside.

When she enters the cabin, the first thing she notices is that it's clearly abandoned. The place looks run down; there is dirt all over and cobwebs on the corners of the walls. Emma also realizes that she's looking at what could be described as the main area of the cabin, since it apparently functions as kitchen, living and dining room altogether. She gets as much from the stove and table on the left corner and from the fireplace and couch right in front of her.

Emma turns and sees that there's a door on the right, which is partially ajar. She figures it's where Regina must have headed into.

Emma walks over to the other room and pokes her head inside.

Yes, Regina is there, and she's standing in the middle of the tiny room, eyeing a queen sized bed in a way that Emma cannot quite interpret.

"What is it?"

Regina turns to look at her for a second and then her gaze travels back to the tousled sheets on the bed.

"We should go," the brunette says firmly, eyes trained on the mattress. Gone is the mirth in her eyes.

"What?" Emma clearly doesn't understand why the sudden change in the atmosphere, "Where?" she asks, because is not like there are many places they can go. They're trapped on this goddamn island, for crying out loud.

"We shouldn't be in here, Emma," Regina makes a circular gesture with her hand, indicating that she's talking about the cabin.

Emma sighs and walks a few steps further into the room, closing the door behind her. She doesn't understand why the Queen of everything and everyone seems to care about a desolated cabin in the middle of the woods all of a sudden, and she's tired and so very frustrated because she wants to get the hell out of this damn island and look for Henry and the rest of her family. If only Regina would give in, for once, then maybe things would get a little bit better but, no, the brunette just has to make everything harder on them both than what it already is.

"Then tell me where you want to go because we are not getting out of here any time soon, Regina!" Emma throws her arms up in defeat and glares openly at the brunette. She doesn't mean to snap at her but her frustration is getting the best of her, and maybe she's just tired of trying to stay cool. Maybe she just wants to act out on her feelings and, right now, Emma feels like she's going to burst at the seams.

Regina flinches ever so slightly at the abrupt outburst, but steels her features with mesmerizing precision a second later. However short her display is, Emma sees right though her, and she immediately regrets having lost her composure.

"Just," Emma sighs and runs her fingers through her blonde locks, "it looks like it might be a while before we find a way out of this island. So why not make it a little bit easier on us by staying here? The place looks like it has been inhabited for years."

Of course that the two women don't really know what happened to the people that lived there but, just by taking a quick look at the place, you can tell that whoever lived in the cabin hasn't been around for a very, very long time, so it is highly unlikely that the owners of the place will appear all of a sudden and try to recover the place just when they happened to arrive.

Regina seems to think on Emma's words for a long couple of minutes. Her eyes fix back on the bed and its dirty and tousled sheets. If it wasn't for the huge amount of dirt and dust that they have gathered, Regina would actually be capable of believing that the person that slept there had just risen from the bed and was actually roaming about in the woods right now.

But Emma is right. No one is going to come and claim this place as their own again. Most probably, whoever lived here is long dead. The most reasonable decision they could make is to stay there, clean up the place and make it their own until they both find a way out of the island.

Regina knows that, she knows perfectly well that they should stay under the safety that a roof provides. Yet, there's something stopping her from caving.

She can't stay there, no matter how much she prefers sleeping on an actual bed rather than the cold and uncomfortable floor outside.

"I can't, Emma," Regina says, her brown eyes growing impossibly softer, "I just can't."

Regina doesn't wait for the blonde to reply. In fact, she doesn't even give her time enough to process her words before she's out of the bedroom.

And out of the cabin.

After a moment's hesitation, Emma dashes after the retreating brunette. She pushes the door open and heads outside.

"Regina, wait."

The brunette whirls around to see Emma barreling down the three steps of the foyer and coming to a halt in front of her. She has this strange feeling of déjà vu, like she's seen Emma running after her before in the same fashion, but she shakes it off. It's of no importance right now.

"No, I won't stay in there."

"Why?" Emma asks, visibly baffled. "It's nothing a little cleaning can't fix."

Regina is not sure whether to feel insulted by Emma's words or relaxed by how far off she is of the actual issue. She lets her head drop for one second, acknowledging the fact that there is something troubling her, and shakes it to clear her thoughts.

"Go back inside, Emma," she says, sounding incredibly tired, even to herself.

For a moment, Regina can see the blonde's body tense and her mouth open and close a few times. She's clearly struggling with saying whatever she wants to say and doing what Regina is asking of her.

Emma wants to convince the other woman of staying; she wants to know why Regina refuses to accept the only good thing that has happened to them since they ended up on the island. But something in the way the brunette speaks tells her that the best thing she can do for both of them is to let it go, at least for now.

"Ok," she says in a small voice.

Regina knows what Emma is doing and she silently thanks her for it. She's giving her the space she needs to process.

Regina nods her head to the blonde in gratitude and turns around on her heels, heading straight for the woods.

Emma watches the brunette's retreating form until she disappears between the trees. Then, she sighs, and turns to face the cabin. She takes a moment to contemplate the small wooden construction and claps her hands together. "Well," she says grimly to herself, "this should be fun."

**II**

If she has to be downright honest with herself, Emma cannot remember the last time she ever cleaned a mug of coffee, let alone an entire house. She had clearly underestimated the work it would take when she had first analyzed the situation from afar.

Now, exactly eight hours later, Emma is lying flat on the bed. Every single bone in her body aches and she's pretty sure she won't be able to stand straight for at least a week.

Who knew cleaning a house – albeit small – could be so damn hard? From now on, Emma would give Mary Margaret more credit for keeping the loft as neat as she does.

The mere thought of the loft and Mary Margaret is enough to make Emma suck on her lower lip and bite down hard on it. Her mind automatically goes back to Hook's ship, at the exact time when they were being sucked by the portal. She remembers how hell had broken havoc on deck and how, a moment later, there'd been a white searing light covering it all around them and then… nothing, just darkness.

Emma can't recall anything else before waking up on the island, only that part, which is not much to go by at all. She knows not what it means nor how they, she and Regina, ended up on that island, separated from the rest.

The blonde shakes her head to clear it from those disturbing thoughts – because, really, what difference does it make to go over them when she won't be reaching any answers by doing so? – and lets her head fall limply to the side to look at the only window in the bedroom.

It's dark already. The sun hasn't set yet but it won't be long until it does.

Regina had clearly wanted to be alone for a while and Emma respected that. She has given the woman eight good hours to get herself together, isn't it time for the brunette to return already?

Emma lets out a breath. What if she got lost in the forest and doesn't know her way back?

Should she go get her?

"Damn," she mentally kicks herself as she props herself off of the bed. Her stupid conscience is not going to let her sit this one out, is it? _Because that's what good people do_.

Her whole body protests when she moves across the room. She fetches her boots and puts them on in one fluid motion. "You'd better not be at the other end of this goddamn island, Regina." Emma walks over to the only piece of furniture in the small bedroom that there is: a white wooden wardrobe that rests against the wall, just below the window. She opens a drawer and looks for a leather jacket she'd seen before when she was cleaning. The blonde puts the jacket on and exits the room.

Emma drags herself out of the cabin and walks over to the forest, in the direction Regina had headed to, almost nine hours ago.

By the time she finds her, the sun has long since set.

Regina is sitting with her legs dangling from the edge of the cliff. She looks tense and doesn't seem to hear Emma approaching. The brunette only shows signs of acknowledging the blonde's presence when Emma plops down beside her and sighs in exhaustion.

"I lost track of time," comes the shaky explanation.

Emma lets the lie pass; she won't be getting anything out of pressing Regina tonight. Instead, the blonde prefers to spend whatever little energy she has left into convincing the older woman to head back to the cabin with her.

"I cleaned it up, y'know?" Emma says, deliberately changing the subject. "It took a hell lot of time, but I gotta admit it looks pretty decent now."

Regina snorts and shoots Emma a disbelieving glance.

"Hey! I _can_ clean…" she trails off, tilting her head, "Well, at least _now_ I know I can." Emma chuckles to herself, "You wouldn't believe the amount of dirt I dusted off today."

Regina eyes her up and down, noticing the poor state of Emma's clothes. Her white t-shirt is now almost completely grey.

"I can imagine," she quips. Her eyes focus on Emma's leather jacket. "Where did that come from?"

The blonde looks down at her new piece of clothing and then at the older woman again. "Oh, _this_?" Emma points to the leather jacket, "I swear I can explain," she smiles sheepishly and raises her hands in mock defense.

Regina smiles lopsidedly at the blonde's jibe, "I'm sure you can, Sheriff."

Regina shakes her head, trying to mask her amusement. Emma watches her try to hide her smile behind a curtain of short dark hair and breaks into laughter at the sight.

It feels good to be laughing, even if it is for something as silly as to where Emma's jacket came from. It's so good, in fact, that Emma can feel all the stress she has accumulated in the last few hours slowly begin to ebb away. She thinks Regina is experiencing something similar because the brunette's shoulders are sagging and she looks like she's trying her hardest not to break into incontrollable laughter too.

But then, Regina grows silent and Emma realizes that the small moment of unrestricted peace they had experienced has already come and passed. When their eyes meet again, Regina looks impossibly serious. All trace of joy is gone from her face.

"I can't stay there because settling down means accepting that we are not going to get Henry back," Regina explains, boring her eyes intently into Emma's green ones. "At least not soon and I can't, I _won't_, accept that." Regina's voice cracks at the end and she involuntarily lets her head drop again, her hair hiding the tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"Hey," Emma reaches out to brush Regina's hair away from her face but she thinks better of it and automatically balls her hand into a fist, letting it drop to the patch of grass between their bodies. "We _will_ find him."

Emma doesn't know how or when, but she will find a way to breech that damn magic veil and get to Neverland. She will. It doesn't matter how long it takes.

Regina sniffs and tucks a few strands of hair behind her ears. Her tear-filled eyes seek Emma's, "How?"

Maybe it's the way in which she asks, or maybe it's the shaky and desperate tone of her voice, but Regina sounds so very unlike the hardass Mayor she'd met almost two years ago in Storybrooke that Emma can hardly believe she's speaking to the same woman.

Regina sounds broken and desperate for some control. The brunette is not used to feeling so helpless and, above all, as powerless as she does now, trapped in a strange place while her son is in danger and without her magic. She's desperately craving for something - or someone - that can give her back some of that lost control.

"I don't know yet, but we will find a way." Emma doesn't want to give the other woman pipe dreams. It's true that she doesn't know how in earth they'll breech that veil. What she is certain of, however, is that they will. Sooner or later, they'll manage to find a way to get Henry back. "If there is something I know about you and I is that when we want something we set out to get it and, eventually, we do." Emma smiles tentatively at the brunette, trying to convey the strange feeling of hope she feels surging inside of her, as if she somehow knows that they'll be reunited with Henry again.

"I don't think I can live knowing that he's out there with those two."

"You'll just have to," Emma purses her lips. She doesn't like this any more than Regina does but she knows that it makes no difference to stay in the cabin than out in the woods when it comes to finding a way to Neverland. So if they have the chance of making use of a nice and safe place, why not doing so?

Regina lets out a shaky breath and she runs both her hands through her hair, "How?"

Emma shrugs her shoulders. It's such a simple question and yet so very difficult to answer at the same time. How to live knowing that their eleven year old son is in another land, possibly in danger? How to keep it cool while there is next to nothing that they can do to make their way to him? How to watch the sun rise and fall day after day on this cliff, overlooking Neverland, knowing that they are so close and yet so far away from the person they both love most in all the world? How?

There's little Emma can say to appease Regina, except maybe the only thing that will keep them sane while they figure a way out of the island.

"One day at a time."

**III**

"This is ridiculous."

Regina is standing inside the cabin, eyes wide shut, waiting for Emma to give her the cue.

"Alright, you can open your eyes now," Emma says from somewhere across the room.

The brunette slowly opens her eyes and takes in the sight surrounding her. Even though she hadn't been expecting it, she's actually rather impressed at the really good job that Emma did in cleaning and reorganizing the furniture in the house - not that she will ever admit it though - but it actually looks like a complete different place than the one she'd first stumbled into.

Now, the place looks neat and tidy and there's not a single cobweb in sight.

"What do you think?" Emma walks over to where the brunette is rigidly standing, a silly smile plastered on her face. "I know it's a far cry from your mansion in Mifflin's but I think it'll do, for the time being that is."

Regina's eyes wander through the room, taking in all the small details that she had missed before. She realizes that, maybe and just maybe, staying here is not such a bad idea after all. The cabin surely is small but it's cozy and, above all, safe.

"Yes," is all she manages to say.

Regina walks over to the tiny kitchen area right on the left side of the room and lets her fingers brush across the wooden counter.

Emma watches the brunette inspect the different drawers and take out a few objects that the previous owners had seemingly left behind before leaving the place for good.

Finally it looks like the brunette is wrapping her mind around the thought of accepting the cabin as their temporary home, which is a huge step for her.

Emma moves across the room and lets herself fall backwards on the couch in front of the fireplace. As soon as her back hits the cushions, Regina whirls around and raises her right hand, holding a box of matches in it.

Emma leans forward to get a better look at what the brunette is holding, "Are those matches?"

"It would appear that we didn't end up in a land so different from ours after all," Regina says, opening the small box to count the amount matches inside.

"How many are there?"

Regina counts the remaining matches, "Twenty-three."

"That's more than enough," Emma smiles, because counting with matches can be life-saving in some occasions and it's far better than having to start a fire on her own. She's done it a couple of times in the Enchanted Forest but Emma's not confident she remembers how to do it properly now. So yes, those matches are truly life-saving. "Come on," Emma jumps from the couch, ignoring the way her muscles protest, and beckons for the brunette to follow her. "I haven't shown you the best part."

Regina follows Emma into the tiny bedroom and her eyes widen at the simplistic beauty of the place. Now that it's clean, and that the brunette can see what lied underneath all those layers of dust, she can truly appreciate the room for what it is.

There's a queen sized bed, a small wardrobe and a single window in the room. Everything is made of wood, clearly taken from the trees in the forest, except for the white sheets and cushions on the bed.

The former Evil Queen is about to voice her thoughts when Emma slides past her and opens one of the drawers of the wardrobe.

"Look," she says and motions with her hand for the brunette to come closer.

Regina walks over to the blonde and sits beside her on the bed while Emma shows her all the different kinds of dresses, shirts and pants that there are inside the drawers. All the clothing is surprisingly clean and perfectly folded inside, and even though those dresses are nothing like the ones she used to wear in Storybrooke or Fairytale Land, she finds them even more beautiful in their simplicity. They look comfortable and _real_, as if it is obvious that the woman who wore them before wasn't royalty, neither a peasant, just a woman, made of flesh and bone.

"So this is where you stole the jacket from."

Emma turns to look at the brunette as a small smile threatens to overthrow her features. "I confess, Madame Mayor," she grins devilishly.

Emma is provoking her, just for the fun of it, and Regina is going to push her buttons back on purpose too because, if she has to admit it, she's a very sore loser. No matter what kind of game she's playing.

"Well, since apparently you just reinstituted me as Mayor, and I do not condemn theft here or anywhere, you will be punished. And your punishment, Miss Swan, will be sleeping on the couch until we find a way out of here," Regina deadpans, causing the blonde's mouth to fall agape.

She clearly wasn't expecting that.

"Wha-Regina when I said…" Emma tries to protest but Regina lifts a hand, stopping her.

"I'm sorry, dear," the brunette gets on her feet and Emma mirrors her as a reflex. "Too late," she grins deviously and pats Emma on the shoulder.

The blonde is too stunned to answer back so Regina makes a good use of this moment to lead the younger woman out of the bedroom.

"Enjoy the couch, dear," Regina smirks and closes the door in front of the gaping blonde.

**A/N: And so we reach the end of this chapter. I hope you all liked it and that you're kind enough to feed the pigeons with a review. It would really make my day!**

**Coming next: The two women keep trying to find a way out of the island, though it may turn to be more difficult than what they thought. Frustration leads to conflict and Emma stumbles upon somebody she was dying to see again.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This chapter is a bit emotional but we're nearing the best part, which is the inevitable romance *wink*. Thank you again for all the follows, I'm surprised to see so many people interested in this story. **

**I was wondering, which length do you guys prefer on an update? Personally, I like the updates that have 5000/6000 words – This one is one of those, lol – But what do you like? I know that some readers are put off when they see an update longer than 6000w. Anyway, if you could tell me, I would really appreciate it. Also, I'd like to know your thoughts on the story so far. Do you like it? Do you hate it?**

**Lastly, enjoy!**

Regina takes a deep breath, feeling how her lungs fill with air until they're full, and then exhales slowly, trying to concentrate solely on her breathing. She repeats this technique a few more times, until she's completely relaxed. Finally, she closes her eyes and extends both her hands out, closing the space between her palms but not allowing them to touch, just keeping them slightly apart.

Almost instantly, Regina starts to feel energy pouring out of her skin and concentrate in the free space between her hands.

It's working, she can feel it.

The brunette closes her eyes more tightly, trying not to lose her focus. She breathes in again, filling her lungs, and then she lets out the air through her mouth slowly.

The energy pouring from both her palms is growing more intense and Regina knows it's time to act. She pictures a stone in her mind, defining its size, form and color. Then, she imagines how that stone may feel under her skin, its texture and its weight. When she's certain that the stone is as real as it can be, Regina pictures more stones on top and to each of the original stone's sides.

The image in her head expands upwards, revealing a stone bridge, made of all the individual stones Regina had made up originally. The bridge arches slightly upwards and it connects this island with Neverland.

Regina can feel the bridge's stability. It's well constructed and she knows it will lead her straight to Neverland.

She opens her eyes, smiling lopsidedly and expecting to come face to face with the bridge she had envisioned in the back of her mind.

Her smile falters when she sees nothing but the cliff and the sea in front of her.

There's no bridge anywhere.

Regina balls her palms into tight fists and smacks them to her sides. She lets out a frustrated cry as she brings her hands to her eyes and then runs her fingers through her short brown locks in exasperation.

The brunette was sure the energy she'd felt forming was magic, or at least it'd felt like it. She'd done everything she was supposed to do: calling forth her magic, envisioning what she wanted to happen and willing it to become real. But nothing had happened, just like the other twenty times or so in which she had tried to perform magic to create a way out of the island and failed miserably.

Regina kicks the ground angrily and saunters off towards the edge of the cliff. She sits down, letting her feet dangle over the edge as she gazes at the land below.

_Neverland_.

It doesn't look far at all, but it's a world beyond her reach now.

From where she is, Regina can see the lush green forest of the island, the beaches surrounding the land, its dark waters bathing the shore, the rocks adorning the sand on the beach, everything. It's literally so close that she can almost make out the shapes of fallen branches and even the colors of a few seashells lying on the sand.

For the past few weeks, Regina has been coming to the cliff every day, some times in the morning, others during the afternoon. But she has never, not even once since they had ended up here, missed a day.

Every day she's walked up here to try and make her magic work. She knows by now that in this land there's no magic – it's very similar to Storybrooke in that aspect – but she refuses to accept that. So she keeps coming to the cliff and, every single day, she tries to cast a different spell. She also tries to alter the ways in which she accesses her magic, thinking that maybe if she changes something, she'll be able to make it work.

So far, however, Regina's been failing miserably. Every day she walks back to the cabin feeling more lost and more defeated. Every day she loses a little bit more of her hope.

Today, it seems, is no different.

Her magic is there. She can feel it lying dormant deep within herself but completely locked away and out of reach, burning like a candle in the wind, present but impossible to control.

A low rumble breaks her out of her absorption. Regina glances up at the sky, noticing some gray clouds beginning to form there.

It appears that it's going to rain.

Regina's going to have to head back soon and she knows it. She sighs heavily, the trek back to her and Emma's cabin always feels like the walk of shame for her.

Emma has told her quite a few times that she shouldn't feel that way because her fault and that she herself feels just as useless as Regina does. But however well intended Emma's words are, Regina can't help but feel angry with herself and with the world for having put her in this situation.

To her, this is torture. To know that her son is in another land – one that is practically right in front of her - alone and possibly in danger, without being able to do anything about it is devastating and utterly exasperating, to say the least.

Regina wishes that she could at least see him. If Henry were to make an appearance on the beach, if he were to show up, even just once, then maybe she would feel a little less like a wreck inside.

That's the other reason why the brunette heads for the cliff every single day. She could choose to channel her magic any other place in the island and it would – most probably – have the same effect: nothing, but instead she chooses to do so here, on the cliff that overlooks Neverland because, maybe and just maybe, one day Henry will go there and, if she's there like she always is, Regina will be able to see him and be sure that he's alright.

Letting out a breath, Regina stands and brushes her palms down her legs before directing one last glance to Neverland and turning around, heading straight for the cabin.

**I**

It's been nearly three months since they've been here in the island.

Emma knows the amount of time that has passed with precision thanks to one of the many habits she's learnt while in juvie prison.

Yeah.

Counting the passing of days on the wall where each day represents with a straight line, until the seventh day. That one is represented as a diagonal line that crosses out the other six, signaling the passing of a week.

As of now, Emma has marked fifteen weeks and three days, which are one hundred and eight days or two thousand five hundred and ninety two hours.

Yes. This feels like juvie all over again. Because what difference does it make, anyway? She's trapped, there's no way out and to top it all off she has the worst jailer ever: _Regina_.

Ok, maybe Regina is not exactly her jailor, since the woman is as trapped in this island as she is, but having the brunette woman as her only companion… well, it's not exactly a stroll down the park.

For the most part of the day, Regina keeps to herself. Emma doesn't know exactly where the brunette heads off to, but she has a few ideas as to where she can find her, should she need to. She also doesn't know what is it that Regina saunters off to do; she wonders if maybe the other woman found a secret amusement park or something of the sort that keeps her entertained every day.

In any case, she doesn't care. Emma is busy as well. Or at least that's what she likes to pretend, since she doesn't like feeling like she's the only one doing nothing day after day.

If she has to be blatantly honest, yeah, she doesn't do anything at all. There's not much to do in this flat and boring island, anyway. She could go down to the beach or maybe she could even go out to explore, see what else is there in the island, but all those activities – much like Regina had said before – kind of mean that she's settling down, or at least accepting her predicament as much as to allow herself some sort of joy and she's not ready to do that yet.

Maybe she will never be.

No matter how many weeks or even months pass, Emma cannot stop thinking about Henry, about Mary Margaret and David, and hell, even Hook and Gold.

She's tired of going over and over the events that transpired that day on the Jolly Roger. It's futile, really. She doesn't remember anything else than the feel of the ship being yanked down and then that white searing light covering everything.

And then nothing, just this goddamn island and… Regina.

Emma lets out a puff of air and picks up a few pebbles from the ground. When she has collected a few, she begins to throw them into the river, one by one. It's some sort of therapeutic habit she's picked up: to come down to the river and throw pebbles into its waters. It helps her ease the tension in her shoulders somewhat and it also helps her concentrate on what matters most: finding a way out of the island and back to Henry and to the rest of her family.

Emma throws another pebble into the water, aiming as far as her arm would go. She wonders what happened to Mary Margaret and David. Did they land on an island like she and Regina? Or maybe they did make it to Neverland after all? Maybe it's just Regina and her who were pulled away from the rest…

The small rock hits the surface of the river, splashing some droplets of water before beginning to sink down into its depths.

But what if… what if they aren't alive? What if they drowned? After all, Emma had found Regina hanging loosely from a wooden board on the water after she woke up in the beach. If the brunette hadn't somehow managed to cling onto that board, then she would have most probably drowned herself.

Emma shakes her head, dismissing the negative thought.

No, her parents are alive. They have to be.

Somewhere out there, Mary Margaret and David are alive and together, and they will find a way to be reunited with her.

After all, it's a Charming thing.

When she runs out of small rocks to throw, Emma sits down on the grass. She hugs her knees to her body and rests her chin on her kneecaps.

At least her coexistence with Regina has somewhat improved over the days. At first, they were constantly on each other's throats - pretty much like they were in Storybrooke – bickering for anything at all. Any excuse was good enough to start a fight.

Since they are seemingly the only two people living in the island, it's only logical that people like them would make a good use of whatever issue they have to pin it to the other. It's always easier to blame somebody else than yourself and, when it comes down to externalizing blame, let's just say that Regina mastered the art long before Emma was even born. So the blonde has had to deal with the brunette's volatile mood more often than not.

Only recently they're relationship has begun to shift from downright unstable to mildly so. Now it's like they tiptoe around each other – especially Emma around Regina – since they are both apparently trying to ease things a little bit.

Emma is certainly thankful for that. She's got enough going on with being trapped in the island and not knowing anything about her family so as to add worrying about pissing off the former Evil Queen.

A thunder breaks her out of her self-induced haze. Looking up, Emma notices that the sky has turned a dark grey. There are clouds covering the sun that had been shining when she'd got here and she knows for sure that it's about to rain.

Emma springs to her feet and brushes off the grass and dirt from her pants. She's about to turn around and head for the woods when the first droplet of water lands on her forehead.

"Damn," Emma curses under her breath as she wipes the raindrop out of her skin.

Another thunder echoes above and, before she can take another breath, rain begins to fall heavily from the sky.

Emma sprints into a run, knowing that by the time she makes it back to the cabin, she'll be soaking wet.

**II**

_Soaking wet?_ Emma snorts, which is immediately followed by a sneeze. She's completely drenched from head to toes. Water is dripping from her hair and her clothes, which are also uncomfortably glued to her body. She has her arms tightly wrapped around her middle section but that's not enough to stop her from shaking lightly.

The blonde opens the door and slips inside the cabin. Her green eyes widen appreciatively upon landing on a warm, cozy fire that Regina must have lit earlier. She hurries forward, her boots making a crunching sound on the floor as she moves, and practically launches herself over to the fireplace in her haste to get warmed up.

When the heat from the fire caresses her skin, Emma shuts her eyes closed and lolls her head back, thoroughly enjoying the feeling. A chill runs down her spine as warmth starts spreading through her body.

Emma runs her hands up and down her forearms, feeling goosebumps on her skin. She's about to dispose of her wet clothes when an infuriated voice causes her to tense up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Emma turns around to face a fuming Regina, who is standing under the threshold of the bedroom door.

Regina's hair is slightly wet too, though obviously not as much as hers, but her clothes are dry and clean. She must have been out too when it started to rain but managed to make it back in time in order to avoid the heavy rainstorm that had surprised Emma back in the river.

Emma doesn't understand what Regina's anger is about but a single look at those brown eyes is enough to send the message.

Emma glances down at the floor: muddy footsteps trace a straight path from the door and right up to the fireplace. There are also tiny pools of water all over the wood and a much larger one forming at her feet.

Emma gulps. The place is a mess.

"Geez, I'm sorry, Regina." Emma says, trying to stop her teeth from chattering. "I wasn't thinking."

"Clearly." Regina folds her arms and shoots her a disapproving glare.

"Look, I'm sorry. Ok?" Emma turns around again, not willing to turn this into an argument with the brunette. How can Regina worry about the stupid wooden floor when she's surely on the brink of catching a serious cold or something? She knows Regina has a bit of an OCD when it comes to cleaning but this is ridiculous. She stretches out her hands to bring them closer to the fire and rubs them together a few times.

"Who is going to clean this mess?" Regina spits out, unfolding her arms and walking over to where the blonde is standing, trying to warm up. "You must think I'm your maid or your house slave by now, don't you?"

"What-"

"You haven't moved a finger ever since you cleaned the cabin for the first time," Regina raises a finger to stress her point. "Just once. That's how much you've done for this place."

Emma's mouth opens and closes a few times. She wants to interrupt Regina's onslaught but the brunette doesn't even let her.

"What do you do every day, if I may ask, hum?" Regina asks, stepping closer to her until their breaths are almost touching. "You just saunter off to whatever place it is you go to and leave _me_ to gather the food, food that _you_ eat as well, and to clean this place."

"Regina, I'm-"

"No," Regina growls, "I'm tired of this. I'm tired of being the only one that is trying to find a way out!"

Emma shifts on her feet, uncomfortable with the speed with which the argument is changing, "That's not true, Regina."

"Oh, really?" Regina asks, her tone purely sarcastic. "What is it that you do then, dear? Enlighten me, please."

"I uh, well." Emma means to tell her that every day she almost but splits her head open in order to come up with some brilliant plan that can get them out of here, but words fail her and she ends up stuttering.

"Exactly what I thought."

It is true that she only cleaned this place up so that Regina would agree to stay there. It's also true that they never really talked about dividing chores and assigning daily duties for each of them.

The first days on the island, it'd been Emma who had practically taken care of everything: finding food, cleaning the cabin and stuff like that. She easily assumed that role because Regina had been too much of an emotional wreck to actually function properly. The only thing on that woman's head was finding her son.

Not that Emma could blame her, but someone had to provide for them. So that's how Emma had landed the role.

It's funny how those roles seem to have reversed now.

With the passing of the days, Emma had quickly begun to head down the path of desperation. She never could quite handle being imprisoned in a place without a way out, and she had more than one experience in her life that could explain why the urge existed in the first place. So she went from rational to not actually caring about eating or cleaning, or anything else, except finding a way out and to her family and son.

Regina, on the other hand, had done exactly the opposite. When the frantic need to get Henry back began to somewhat mellow – not because she didn't care anymore, but because she was beginning to understand that it would take time and that she needed to care for herself first if she wanted to actually be alive by the time she finally found a way to her son again – she stepped right into Emma's shoes and started collecting seeds and fruits to eat and, of course, cleaning the house.

So the brunette is right with what she's saying. Emma did step aside and is now letting her do all the work by herself. But it's also true that, when it was Regina who couldn't function properly, Emma had gladly stepped up for both of them and had never once complained about it. She'd never thrown anything to Regina's face, let alone called her a maid or her house slave. That was just completely uncalled for.

"Look, Regina," Emma starts, nostrils flaring. "It's just a fucking floor, ok?" Regina visibly cringes by the poor choice of Emma's words. "I'll clean it up later if you're gonna go batshit crazy on me."

"Excuse me?!"

"Yeah, I'll excuse you, _Your Majesty_." Emma spits out angrily, "I just can't believe that the only thing you care about is this goddamn fucking floor!" She runs a hand through her wet blonde locks in exasperation. "It's just _wood_, Regina. For fuck's sake!" Emma brushes past the brunette and heads straight for the door.

Regina turns on her heels when she sees that the blonde is leaving, "Where are you going?" She suddenly sounds preoccupied; all trace of anger is gone from her voice. It's obvious that whatever prompted her to start quarreling with the blonde had very little to do with the muddy floor but the fight has already crossed the point of no return.

"As if you cared," Emma yanks the door open and storms outside.

**III**

A loud thunder echoes up above as the sky continues to unleash its fury mercilessly onto the island.

It's raining so heavily and it's so dark at the same time that Emma can hardly see where she's going. Small branches keep scratching her exposed skin as she dashes by, but she's past the point of caring by now. She keeps running frantically, using her hands to push aside whatever thing comes in her way.

In the back of her mind, Emma knows what she's doing. She's running away, she's getting as far as she can from her troubles and, right now, her issues go by the name of Regina.

Emma's not good at facing things. She never was. Running is what comes natural to her.

She'd showed an improvement in that regard back in Storybrooke when she chose to stay for Henry but ever since her life had turned upside down all over again, well… she should be excused for going back to her old habits. After all, they do die hard.

Another thunderbolt resonates loudly, startling Emma out of her reverie. Suddenly, she trips with a protruding rock and falls forward, landing heavily on her hands.

"Fuck!" Emma hisses through gritted teeth as her palms scrape against the hard ground.

Slowly, she sits back on her heels, lifting one of her injured hands and cradling it against her chest almost instinctively. Emma examines her hand. Fortunately, there's not even blood.

She's so engrossed looking for any serious damage that she doesn't notice that now there seems to be more light around her than there was a moment ago.

Finally looking up, the blonde realizes where she is.

Emma stands slowly, not breaking eye-contact with the island in front of her.

Neverland is beautifully bathed in the light of the setting sun. No clouds are marring the sky there and the sea stretches before her like a mirror, still and smooth. It's a sight to behold. However, it's not Neverland's striking beauty that has Emma frozen to the ground. It's something else entirely.

_Henry_.

Emma gasps and her hand flies to cover her gaping mouth. For a full minute she doesn't move. There's no sign of her being alive other than the frantic pounding of her heart.

She can't believe what her eyes are seeing. She's convinced it's a trick, like a mirage of some sort. And yet every cell, ever bone in her body is telling her that no, this is not a trick. She did not fall asleep and she did not hit her head and lost consciousness when she fell.

This is real, as real as the feeling of her heart hammering against her ribcage is.

Her son is there, sitting atop one of the gigantic rocks on the shore of Neverland, throwing seashells into the sea just like his mother had been similarly doing earlier that day.

Emma's brow creases. She had not expected to see Henry without his captives. Where are Greg and Tamara? Where's Pan, of all people? Did he manage to break free? But above all, why does Henry look actually happy?

It doesn't matter.

All that matters is that the kid's well and alive.

Emma finally snaps out of her haze and she leaps forward, landing almost on the edge of the cliff, and calls out, "Henry!"

He doesn't hear her.

He just keeps throwing seashells into the water.

"Henry!" Emma screams at the top of her lungs, "Henry!" she tries to step forward, closer to the edge.

She has to get him to see her.

If only he could hear her then… then everything would be ok again.

"Henry! Hen-" Emma's eyes widen and her heart skips a beat when Henry suddenly slides off the rock, landing safely on the sand, and turns around, beginning to head back to the woods. "No," Emma gasps out. "NO!" tears well up in her eyes as she watches her son walk away from her, without being able to stop him. "No! Henry, come back!" She calls out again but Henry never hears her.

He crosses the border between beach and woods, disappearing from sight, and Emma's knees instantly buckle under her. She falls to the ground again, landing on all fours, feeling wretched inside. The tears in her eyes finally begin to stream down her face, tracing a straight path down her cheeks. She can feel her chest tightening and something inside her begins to crumble, first slowly, then quickly, until she's no longer in control of her emotions.

She should have called louder; she should have found a way to make him stay. She should have…

Emma balls her hands into tight fists, burying sharp nails into soft flesh. She can feel more hot tears pushing at the corners of her eyes and she makes no effort to stop them from spurting out.

The feeling of losing Henry back in Storybrooke, when Greg and Tamara forced him to jump into that portal, hits her like a crushing wave all over again. That feeling of helplessness, of being an utter failure – because she'd failed him but, above all, she'd failed herself as a mother – assaults her, consuming her inside.

Something hot oozes down her palms and she's pretty much sure it's blood, but she pays it no mind. Right now, her brain is racking with thoughts, of which not even one is good. She thinks of giving birth to Henry while in prison. She thinks of how she first lost him by giving him away. She thinks of how he found _her_ and not the other way around back in Boston. She thinks of how it's _he_ who always seems to be on the lookout for her. She thinks of how he's always seen the best in her, even when she wasn't able to. She thinks of the faith he sees brimming in his eyes when he looks at her. She thinks of the hero she is to him in his young and innocent mind. She thinks of how she keeps on failing him, losing him, time and again.

Emma throws her head back and lets out a gut-wrenching scream that resonates throughout the woods.

**IV**

Regina sips from her tea absentmindedly; her gaze is lost in the far wall and her mind consumed by thoughts. She's actually second-guessing herself, something that it's not a characteristic trait of her personality. She's wondering if maybe she shouldn't have snapped at the blonde the way she did earlier.

She was feeling frustrated and so very angry at herself for not being able to channel her magic – and anyone knows how well she handles those kinds of feelings – that she had no better idea than to snap at the blonde just to get it all out.

Now is getting late, it's still raining heavily, and Emma hasn't yet returned. It's dangerous to be outside in this weather. Surely Emma is not as foolish as to ignore that.

Regina takes another sip from her steaming cup and rearranges her position in the couch so that she can free her legs from under her body and stand up. She's in the process of doing so when the door is suddenly wrenched open, colliding against the hard wall and producing a loud, startling sound.

The brunette gives a little jump as she turns to the source of the sound.

Emma is there, standing under the threshold. She's soaking wet, her clothes clinging to her now pale and trembling body.

Regina's lips part. The sight that greets her makes her limbs go weak and the cup in her hand falls to the ground, shattering into several tiny pieces. Neither of them seems to notice, though.

Their eyes lock in an intense gaze and Regina immediately notices how red and swollen Emma's own green eyes are. There are tears pooling there that threaten to spill out but Emma seems to be holding them at bay for now. The woman's cheeks are red and there are some superficial scratches marring her skin.

Regina has the awful feeling that something terrible has happened. "Emma, what-?"

"I saw him," Emma interrupts her, her voice filled with sorrow and thick with tears.

Regina's brows furrows together. She doesn't understand what's going on at all, though something inside her screams that she doesn't want to find out. But she can't help it now, she needs to know. "Who did you see, Emma?" She asks very softly, the way one would talk to a frightened child.

Emma's eyes drop to the ground and, as she blinks, two small tears spring from her eyes and land on the ground by her feet.

Regina's heart is hammering in anticipation but she waits for the blonde to raise her head and look at her nonetheless.

"I…" Emma starts, clearing her throat and shifting anxiously from side to side. "I uh…" She seems unable to get the words out and instead breaks down in sobs, taking a hand to cover her mouth to extinguish her anguished sobs.

Regina freezes. She had only seen Emma break down like that once in her life and that was when Henry…

_No_.

Her son is not dead. He's not.

Against her normal self, Regina steps forward, quickly closing the distance between she and Emma and takes Emma's hand – the one she's covering her mouth with – in hers. She pays no mind to the bloody crescent-shaped indents on Emma's palm as she weaves their fingers together and watches in both apprehension and wonder how their hands mold together as one. It's frightening to her and yet… not quite so.

Regina's comforting gesture seems to evoke the desired response in Emma because she takes a shuddering breath and whispers, "I saw him, Regina."

The brunette breaks her gaze away from their joined hands to look into Emma's face. The blonde's tear-filled eyes convey the message right away and Regina's heart skips a beat.

"He-He was sitting on one of the rocks. I tried… I tried to call for him," Emma explains, her voice hitching raggedly. "I tried, I shouted his name," she shakes her head, disbelieving. "I called out to him but he… he…" her voice breaks and her head drops forward, body wracking with sobs.

Regina takes a shuddering breath, trying not to break down herself but it's too much for her to take. It just is. She feels the crown of Emma's head hit her chest just as the first tears that had been welling up in her eyes fall down her cheeks.

She drapes an arm loosely around the blonde and Emma buries her head in the crook of her neck. Her own eyes are wide open, heavy tears blurring her sight as she stares numbly at the rain falling outside through the open door.

Henry is alive. He's alive.

Somehow, though, this new knowledge fails to fill her with the relief and happiness she'd thought she'd feel. The feeling is there but it's tainted with angst and helplessness. It's as if she'd poured salt on an open wound.

He's alive but still so very far away from her and, possibly, still in danger.

Regina doesn't know how much time they remain in that position: Emma's tears landing on her skin and her wet clothes damping hers. They only move when Regina trembles slightly, causing Emma to tear herself away from the brunette's neck to look at her in the eye.

Emma gazes down at Regina's clothes. They are wet and they cling to her body now too, pretty much like Emma's.

It looks as if they'd both been out in the rain.

"Sorry," Emma mumbles under her breath, too embarrassed both for her emotional breakdown and for dampening the brunette's clothes so as to meet her gaze.

"Don't worry about it, dear." Regina's voice sounds just as broken as Emma's, which surprises the blonde and prompts her to look up to brown, tear-filled eyes.

"Regina-"

The older woman shakes her head, stopping Emma from saying anything else. Whatever it is, she doesn't need to hear it.

"We should take these clothes off and go to sleep," She says, ignoring the way Emma's brows crease in confusion at the sudden change in topics. "It's been a very, very long day and I'd like for it to be over," Regina adds, forcing a small smile to appear in her lips.

Emma nods. It's been an emotionally trying day for the both of them. "Yeah," Emma tears her gaze away from Regina's, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden. It's not every day that you seek emotional comfort in your former enemy. She returns the smile to the brunette, however small and weak, and brushes past her to undress in front of the fire but Regina's hand stretches out and grabs her by the arm, stopping her.

Emma turns to look at her, a look of confusion plastered on her tear-streaked face.

"I…" Regina starts, averting her eyes from Emma's. "You don't—you don't need to sleep on the couch tonight," she says in an almost inaudible voice. "There's plenty of room in the bed."

Emma stays silent for a moment, her eyes downcast.

Regina's heart begins to hammer again. This is the closest to a truce as she'll ever get with Emma and she knows it. Inviting Emma to her bed on this particular night should say more than a mere apology ever could.

Emma finally lifts her eyes to look at the brunette, "Ok." She replies, voice low and tentative. Then Emma smiles at her, seemingly understanding the true nature of Regina's intentions.

"Very well, then." Regina can't help but smile in return.

It feels so good to finally be ready to lower her walls, even if it is only to put them up again in the morning or a week from now. It doesn't really matter how much this truce lasts, only that she's ready to try to make peace with the woman she's considered a worthy opponent to her persona from the moment she stepped foot on Storybrooke. It's an immense step for someone like her, to be the one willing to reach out to somebody else to work together for a common goal.

It feels good.

It feels very good.

Still smiling, Regina turns around and heads over to the bedroom. Stopping by the door, she realizes that Emma is still standing where she left her.

"Are you coming, dear?"

"Yeah," Emma says and smiles, truly and unrestrictedly, for the first time in a very long while. "I'm coming."


	4. Chapter 4

It is late in the morning when Emma finally opens her eyes. The morning light is coming directly through the top of the window, although the sounds of thunder still can be heard echoing outside.

It's a gray, rainy morning, which means they'll be confined inside today or at least until the downpour stops.

Emma blinks up a few times, trying to adjust to the bright grayish light streaming from the window. She rolls over to her side and sighs heavily when she sees that Regina's no longer there. The only evidences of the brunette ever sleeping next to her are the tousled sheets and the pillow in disarray on her side of the bed.

Emma props herself up on her elbows and cranes her neck, making her bones crack with a satisfying pop. Then, she slides off the mattress and begins to rummage through the drawers for something to wear.

After dressing up, she finds Regina slicing a few bananas along with some apples on the table and putting the little pieces inside a bowl.

"Hey," Emma greets her as she walks over to the tiny kitchen.

Regina lifts her head to chance a quick glance at the blonde before returning her full attention to the task at hand, "Good morning." Her voice sounds low and throaty, as if she'd just woken up herself. It makes Emma's brows furrow together. She didn't take Regina for one to sleep in or need much rest, for that matter.

Emma's eyes follow Regina's quick and clearly expert movements as she chops one fruit after the other. It's pretty obvious to her that the brunette has done this many times before.

Emma doesn't think she could cut a banana like that without losing a finger or two in the process.

"Did you sleep well?" Regina asks absentmindedly, not raising her head from the fruit that she's cutting.

It's an unexpected question and it evokes a flashing memory in Emma's mind.

_It was late in the night. If Emma had to bet, she'd say it was near three am but she couldn't be sure, since she had no clock. The thunders kept roaring outside and, every once in a while, the tiny bedroom would light up with the flashing light from a lightning bolt._

_She'd just been woken up from a really bad dream, though by what exactly, she didn't know. _

_Emma ran a hand through her still humid and tousled blonde locks, letting out a big puff of air. She stared at the ceiling, following random patterns on the wood, as she tried to settle her mind again from that awful dream._

_After a day like the one she had, it was no surprise that she'd dreamt of Henry. Emma had been expecting as much. _

_It was the intensity of the dream what shook her, though._

_He was in Neverland, climbing a big oak tree. He was moving up with the ability of a monkey, using both his hands and feet to clutch onto the trunk._

_Emma was standing at the foot of the tree watching him climb with big, concerned eyes. He was moving up that tree so fast that Emma's eyes could hardly make out the shape of his limbs as he effortlessly climbed._

"_Henry, come down!"_

_Emma spun her head around. _

_Regina had appeared right beside her and she had such fear stamped in her face that Emma audibly gulped. She turned her gaze back to Henry, who was climbing higher and further away from them._

"_Henry!" Regina called again, taking an involuntarily step closer to the tree trunk._

_The boy craned his neck to gaze down at his two mothers. He didn't look the slightest worried. He actually had a sheepish grin on his muddy face. "Look, mom!" He exclaimed proudly. "I'm really high!"_

"_Yes. Yes, you are," Regina's cheering voice fooled Henry, who beamed down at her, but it failed to fool Emma. It was the quivering in the brunette's tone what gave her away. "Now come down, please."_

_Emma observed how Regina's arms stretched out, aiming toward Henry, as if to help him down. The blonde doubted Regina was even aware she was doing it. It seemed so instinctual._

"_But mom, I want to keep going," He protested feebly. Then, his eyes turned to Emma's. "Emma, please?"_

_Emma shifted uncomfortably under his hopeful gaze. She wasn't born to be the strict parent, that task always fell on Regina, but Henry was directly addressing _her_. He was asking for _her_ approval since he knew he wasn't going to get his other mother's any time soon._

_Emma chanced a look at the brunette. Regina was looking at her too and her eyes were boring into hers with such intensity that Emma had to break the contact for a second. She knew what she had to do either way._

"_Henry, Regina is right," she said, "You should come down."_

_Henry's adorable smile fell and he pursed his lips into a thin line, clearly displeased that he wasn't able to keep climbing._

"_Fine," He growled, beginning his descent._

_He was moving far too fast again, practically sliding down the tree._

"_Henry, slow down," Regina reprimanded him, taking another step closer to the tree._

"_Mom, its fin—"_

_His words died in his throat when he suddenly slipped._

_Emma watched his son fall off from the tree almost in slow motion, rooted to the ground, unable to move or act._

_Regina, contrary to her, leaped forward and screamed, "Henry!"_

_Her words seemed to set Emma free from her invisible chains and she ran to Regina, who was now kneeling before the fallen figure of their son._

_When Emma got there, though, she felt her stomach lurch by what she saw. _

_Regina was holding a small body in her arms, though it wasn't Henry's. It was a dark shadow, with bright glowing yellow eyes, and it was sucking the life out of Regina._

"_Regina!" Emma cried out, dropping to her knees in front of the brunette and wrapping her arms around her torso to try and pry her away from the hold Pan seemed to have on her. "Let her go!" she struggled with the shadow's death grip on the brunette until it finally let go and Emma fell on her back, Regina's body landing heavily over hers. _

"_Regina," Emma breathed out, coming to a sitting position and easing Regina's body to the ground._

_When she met Regina's eyes, Emma gasped and took a hand to cover her parted lips. "No," she murmured, "No." Emma cupped Regina's pale cheek with her hand. It was cold, so incredibly cold. "Wake up," Emma put two fingers on the brunette's neck to feel her pulse. "No, no." _

_There was no heartbeat._

_She was dead._

Emma shakes her head once, snapping out of her absorption. "Like a baby," She replies, forcing a smile on her face. She prefers to lie to the brunette. After all, she doesn't think she would gain much by telling her that no, she didn't sleep well, that her night was plagued by horrible nightmares about her and Henry's deaths. "Did you?"

Regina spares her a quick glance before returning back to the fruit, "I did, thank you." She smiles too then, albeit briefly, and deposits the last of the sliced fruit inside the bowl. Then, she sets the knife aside and stands up.

Emma follows her with her eyes as she moves across the tiny kitchen.

Regina washes her hands and, after drying them with a cloth, picks up a jar with orange juice inside. Then, she opens one of the cabinets above the sink and pulls out two glasses. She pours some of the orange juice inside and walks back to the table, giving one to Emma who looks at her with an amused face. "I made some juice this morning," she offers dismissively.

Emma takes the offered glass and sets it on the table in front of her, "Productive morning, Your Highness?"

Regina sits back on her chair and relaxes into it. "You could say so, Sheriff." She takes one sip from her juice and then sets it back down. With her right hand, she pushes the bowl of fruit closer to the blonde. "I wasn't able to find the right ingredients to make you pancakes and bacon, dear, so I'm afraid you'll have to settle with salad fruit," she quips and Emma knows she's enjoying this far too much. "I hope you don't mind," Regina adds with the fakest angelic smile the blonde has ever seen.

Emma runs the tip of her tongue across her teeth in an effort not to scrunch up her face. She reaches for the bowl of fruit and brings it closer to her. "Not at all," she replies with a fake smile. The brunette knows how much Emma misses her junk food and carbs.

"Excellent," Regina adds, throwing her an earth-shitting grin and reaching over to the counter for a fork. She hands it over to the blonde, who has to do a big effort not to roll her eyes, and sits back on her chair, encouraging the blonde to start eating.

Emma narrows her eyes but stabs a piece of banana with the fork nonetheless, bringing it to her mouth with reluctance.

The fruit is fresh and it tastes really good, if she has to be honest. That's not the problem; it's just that Emma needs her junk food and coffee so badly that she doesn't think she can manage much more of this healthy eating. She's certainly not used to living off of fruits and seeds and this has certainly been going on for far too long now.

Regina, on the other hand, is having the time of her life in regards to food. Salads, fruit, seeds… yeah, she's right in her element and she's definitely enjoying Emma's misery. Probably that's the reason why the brunette makes her breakfast – and all the other daily meals – every day, just to sit down in front of her and watch her struggle to get one mouthful past the other.

For a couple of minutes, Emma is fussed with finishing up eating, swallowing each morsel audibly and downing it with some orange juice. Maybe she doesn't like having fruit for breakfast every day but she's too damn stubborn so as to leave a single slice inside that bowl. So Emma doesn't extricate her attention from the bowl of food until it's completely empty. Only then she raises her eyes triumphantly and pushes the empty bowl aside.

Emma is ready to throw Regina some witty remark about her prowess when she catches sight of the brunette yawning in front of her. She frowns in confusion but then she sees dark rings under Regina's eyes and realization dawns on her.

It appears that she isn't the only one lying about having a good night's rest last night.

Emma bites back the playful comment she was about to make and instead stands up and collects the bowl and empty glasses from the table. She pretends to ignore Regina's questioning eyebrow as she moves over to the counter and sets the dirty items under the sink.

"What are you doing?" Regina asks incredulously, turning on her seat to look at the blonde turning on the faucet and beginning to wash the dishes.

"Well, you wanted me to help more," Emma says casually, scrubbing the bowl with a cloth and some water. "So I'm helping." She turns her head over her shoulder and throws a wry grin to the brunette, who just rolls her eyes and clicks her tongue in aggravation.

That she's doing this because she feels guilty that Regina wasn't able to rest during the night is something that she chooses not to mention.

When she's done with the dishes, Emma turns off the faucet and sets the items aside so that they can get dried off. Then she walks over to the fireplace, picks up some logs from the floor and tosses them into the dying fire, hoping that it'll be enough to revive it.

"Looks like we'll be stuck inside today," Emma plunks down on the couch and turns to look at Regina, who is still sitting in the exact same position on the chair.

"Indeed," Regina replies, letting her eyes wander absentmindedly through the room and set on the small fire.

They fall back into an uncomfortable silence and Emma has the impression that all the improvement – albeit small – which they'd made yesterday, has waned through the night.

Emma sighs, wondering if they'll ever be able to get past this animosity between each other. They are both difficult to handle and they both have very complicated and volatile personalities but Emma thinks that this, being trapped in this island and having to deal with the absence of their son, should be enough to act as a bridge between them. She's sure she saw some of that mutual understanding beginning to form between the two of them after she came back from the cliff.

Seeing Henry had made her break down to fucking shreds, until she was but a few pieces of shattered glass on the floor.

It was Regina who picked up all of her broken pieces and tried to make her whole again. Emma couldn't say Regina succeeded – because she was still breaking havoc inside – but she had tried, something that spoke volumes of the woman, and the comfort that she had offered Emma had been enough at the time, enough to make her stop crying and _breathe_ again.

If it wasn't for the brunette, Emma wasn't sure of what she would have done. Maybe she would have run back to the cliff and thrown herself over it, prey to the madness and stupidity of the moment.

Emma knows that Henry is possibly the only thing that can bring them closer together. He's the only reason they ever worked together or were able to see past their differences in the past. So she is sure that the comfort that Regina offered her yesterday was born from pain, of the mutual pain they feel for the loss of their son. There was nothing else there, no other agenda. Regina didn't comfort her because she liked her or wanted to be her friend. She did so because it was her way of showing her that she understood what she was feeling, because she feels it too.

"Regina," Emma calls tentatively, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden.

The brunette draws her eyes to Emma's. She looks tired and she has to blink a few times to seemingly try to stay awake, "Yes?"

"Thank you."

**I**

Regina's eyes widen in surprise. She's not sure she heard well. Maybe her half sleepy brain is playing tricks on her.

"Excuse me?"

Emma shifts anxiously from side to side on the couch and lets her gaze drop to her lap before repeating, "I said thank you."

So she'd heard well. Her brain wasn't playing any tricks on her.

"What for, dear?" Regina has to admit that she's curious as to why Emma is suddenly – and very awkwardly – thanking her. There are not many reasons that come to mind as to why she could be thanking her. Except maybe…

"For… last night," Emma lifts her eyes to meet Regina's again. "I think I know why you're so tired today."

Regina's heart lurches in her chest. How can Emma know? She was supposed to be asleep!

Anger rises like a wave inside her. She wouldn't have shown such display of vulnerability had she known the blonde would find out.

"I don't know what you're talking about, dear." A fleeting expression of annoyance flickers across Regina's face. Then, she averts her eyes from Emma's. Maybe the blonde knows, but she'll deny it with every ounce of her being.

Emma arches an eyebrow, clearly not buying Regina's dismissive tone. "Oh but I think you do."

Regina shoots her a quick glance over her shoulder in spite of her best efforts not to look at the annoying blonde. The knowing grin that Emma is sporting in her lips makes her growl in frustration. Why does she have to be so incredibly obnoxious? She rolls her eyes and looks away from the blonde again.

_It must have been an hour or two since they had gone to bed and Regina was still awake. Her mind was flooded with thoughts of what Emma had told her: that she'd seen Henry in Neverland that day._

_Part of her was angry at herself for not having been there when Henry showed up. After all these weeks in the island, she should have known that her son would eventually show up. Maybe not so soon but sometime in the future, if they were still stuck there, then maybe…_

_She should have known that somehow her darling boy would find a way to get away from those two lousy excuses for human beings. She should have had more faith in him, should have seen this coming._

_Regina was also mad at the blonde because she'd been the one to see him and not her. _

_Why did it seem like, after Emma showed up in Storybrooke, she had moved her into second place? Now Emma was the first for everything: the first in his son's eyes, the one he placed his whole trust on, the one who took first place in his heart and now she was even the one to find him first._

_She wished she could unleash all her pent up anger at the blonde but she couldn't. In the nearly two years that had passed since Emma Swan had set foot on her Town, Regina had changed a lot and for the better. Deep within, she knew she was just looking for someone to blame and that Emma was as much responsible for this as she was. So she couldn't snap at the blonde any more than what she could be angry at herself._

_It was neither of their faults. _

_Her mind was swarming with these thoughts when she heard a muffled cry break the silence in the room._

_It was Emma. She seemed to be crying in her sleep._

_For a long while, Regina decided to ignore Emma's sobs. They would eventually subside._

_But then, they didn't, and Regina was feeling more and more anxious by the minute. What was she supposed to do? Should she wake her?_

_No. _

_Emma was finally resting – albeit prey from what seemed to be a nightmare. She couldn't wake her._

_Regina laid a hand on the blonde's shoulder and gently shook her. She wouldn't wake her, but at least she would try to calm her down. "It's just a nightmare, Emma," she whispered in a low, soothing voice. _

_She rubbed Emma's arm a few times, hoping that it would soothe her, and it did. The blonde seemed to relax under her touch and her anguished cries finally died down._

_Regina sighed and rolled to lay on her back again. _

_She'd thought that after doing that Emma would be able to sleep peacefully. Little did she know that it had been only the first nightmare that would haunt Emma's dreams that night._

_She didn't know why but she stayed awake and soothed Emma through each and every one of them._

"I really don't have a clue of what you're saying, dear."

Emma chuckles to herself, "Right. Have it your way," she says, suppressing yet another laugh at Regina's obvious displeasure. "But thanks anyway. It was nice of you."

Regina throws her a fuming gaze, "No, it wasn't." She protests feebly and immediately realizes her mistake when Emma's mirthful eyes widen at her accidental admission.

"So it is true," Emma presses, enjoying how Regina is turning all shades of red in front of her.

"Please," She scoffs, trying to dismiss the blonde by showing indifference, but failing miserably.

It's painfully obvious by now that the reason why Regina didn't stick an eye closed last night was because she stayed up, soothing Emma's nightmares.

"Damn," Regina mutters under her breath, refusing to see Emma grinning unrestrictedly on the couch.

"I knew it," Emma scoots forward on the couch, a massive smile adorning her face. "You have a soft side, Regina."

The brunette lets out a low groan. This conversation has got way out of hand.

If only Regina had her powers right now, she would be making a good use of them by sealing Emma's obnoxious lips closed. Pity. A zip would look nice on her.

"Just admit it, Regina. You _care_."

Regina shoots Emma a death glare.

"Ok, ok. Fine," Emma lifts her hands in mock defense and sits back on her heels. She bites down on her lip to suppress yet another triumphant smile, afraid that she might be pushing Regina's buttons way too much. "I'm just glad to know it's not because I snore."

At that, Regina chuckles to herself and gets on her feet. Emma's eyebrows furrow together as she watches a smug smile plastered on the brunette's face.

"What?"

Regina comes to a halt in front of the bedroom door, her hand closing in on the doorknob. "Oh but you do." its Regina's time to gloat at Emma's baffled expression. She breaks into a grin full of mirth, "Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to get some very well deserved sleep."

Regina swings the door open and slips inside the bedroom. When she closes the door after her, Emma slumps back on the couch. "I don't snore."

**II**

"Look," Emma points with her finger to the window.

Regina walks over to the blonde to join her and immediately follows Emma's line of sight. They are both looking out the window, shoulders gently brushing together.

Outside, the gray clouds are giving way to sunrays.

Emma pushes herself away from the wall she'd been leaning against and walks over to the door. She flings it open, allowing a cool breeze to blow in, "It's stopped raining." A warm smile spreads over Emma's lips and she steps through the door, stretching out her arms – as if she hadn't been moving for days – and breathing in the nice and cool afternoon air.

Regina quickly follows her outside and comes to stand beside the blonde. She chances a look at Emma, who has her eyes tightly shut and is seemingly enjoying the afternoon breeze way too much to pass as normal anymore. The brunette can't help but break into a tiny smile at the blonde's blatant display of joy. Emma Swan is like a child trapped inside an adult's body sometimes.

Regina shakes her head, stifling a chuckle, and closes her own eyes. Maybe she'll be able to feel whatever is making Emma grin like a five year old if she mimics her.

"I was thinking," Emma's voice breaks Regina out of her self-induced haze. She opens her eyes and turns her head over her shoulder. Emma is standing some paces away from her – when exactly did she move, she doesn't know – and she's holding a hatchet blade in her hand. A spotted with rust hatchet blade that is. "Maybe I could go hunting or something."

Regina snorts. "You? hunting?"

The ironic tone she uses speaks volumes of what Regina thinks about Emma going hunting. It's obvious to her that the blonde couldn't even hunt an ant even it stayed still, let alone a bigger – and much more agile – animal.

"What?" Emma asks, clearly taken aback by Regina's response. "You don't think I can?"

"Please, dear," Regina scoffs and turns to face Emma, "I don't think you could kill a fly even if you tried."

Emma quickly moves to close the gap between them, coming to stand within inches of Regina's face. "We'll see."

It's an official challenge now.

"I'm sure we will, dear." Regina says, turning away from the blonde and beginning to traipse down the porch stairs. When she reaches the ground, she adds, "I'm going for a walk."

She doesn't wait for Emma's answer and heads straight for the woods.

**III**

Regina isn't sure how many hours have passed since she got here, but the sky above is now jet black and the moon is high on the center of the sky. The waves are crashing against the cliff and exploding into mist that drifts into the mild wind.

Her eyes are lost on the island upfront, which is now immersed in darkness and silence. She can barely make out the shape of Neverland in the dark but the purplish glimmer of the magical barrier is as visible as if it was brimming under a blazing sun.

When she told Emma she was going for a walk she'd meant it as something trivial, something one would do to kill the time but, somehow, her subconscious had driven her here: to the cliff.

Come to think of it, it's no wonder that she ended up there, even if it wasn't premeditated. Henry had been on her mind even more so ever since Emma said she'd seen him. Maybe she'd been secretly hoping to find him playing on the beach again.

But she didn't.

When she got there, Henry was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't sitting on the rocks and he wasn't throwing pebbles into the sea, like Emma said she'd seen him do. He just wasn't there and the feeling of utter despair flooded her insides again.

She was a fool to hope he would be there.

For a very long while, Regina felt hot tears pushing at the corners of her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She just sat down and stayed there, her legs dangling over the edge of the cliff, observing the island in complete silence until darkness befell all around her.

Was it too much to ask to be able to see her son even just once?

One time is all she needs. Just once.

One time would be enough to give her the hope she needs to carry on, the strength to fight to find a way back to him day after day.

Just once.

The sound of branches being crushed breaks the eerie silence surrounding her. It startles Regina but she doesn't turn around. She knows who it is already.

"Hey," Emma says tentatively as she comes to a halt behind the brunette. "I was looking for you. I went back to the cabin but you weren't there…" she interrupts her explanation when she sees that Regina is not showing signs of having heard her. "Everything ok?" Emma asks a little concerned.

When Regina doesn't reply, Emma lets out a heavy breath and moves closer to the brunette. She doesn't ask for permission or waits for Regina to acknowledge her, she just drops down to her knees next to the brunette and turns to look at her.

Regina keeps her gaze locked on the barely visible shape of Neverland, refusing to look at the blonde. She doesn't even flinch when Emma scoots a little closer to her.

"Why are you here, Regina?" Emma asks in a small voice.

Regina keeps silent again, blatantly ignoring the blonde. She didn't invite Emma to join her and she most certainly doesn't want her here, not when she's at her most vulnerable. She's hurting and doesn't want Emma to see that, she just wants the annoying blonde gone so that she can hurt in solitude.

For a whole minute Emma waits for Regina to give her a reply or to just send her to hell. But the brunette does neither.

Thinking that maybe she's not going to get an answer at all, Emma sits back on her rear and lets out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She tears her gaze away from the brunette and, instead, sets her eyes upfront, mimicking Regina.

They both stay like that for a very long while, until Emma decides to break the silence again.

"You know?" She starts, turning on her side to face the brunette once more. "You don't have to do this, Regina."

At last, the brunette sweeps her eyes towards the blonde.

Regina's eyes have the ability to tell a whole story without the need for her to utter a single word, though that's something Emma didn't learn only until very recently, when she found herself sharing a roof with the former Evil Queen day and night. That's why she knows that Regina's hurting now, badly.

Back in Storybrooke Emma hadn't been able to read Regina's emotions as openly as she does now. In fact, if she has to be honest, she wasn't able to read Regina at all. She didn't care enough to try either. Whenever the brunette was hurting, whenever she was trying to reach out, Emma had overlooked it, mistaken her pain for something darker. She had never been able to see Regina under the light she sees her now.

Maybe if she had, many fights and quarrels could have been easily avoided.

Emma places her left hand on the patch of grass between their two bodies and uses it to lean her weight more heavily on it, so that she can be closer to Regina when she whispers, "You don't have to suffer alone anymore."

Regina's lips part in shock and surprise. She wasn't expecting to hear something like that coming from the blonde at all.

"You don't need to hide your pain," Emma continues, boring her green eyes into Regina's brown ones. "Henry's loss is both our loss."

At this, Regina instantly lowers her head. She doesn't want to talk about this anymore because, every time she does, the wound on her heart just seems to get bigger and wider. But, as expected, Emma doesn't relent.

"Let me in, Regina." She says almost pleadingly, placing her left hand on Regina's upper arm, both to draw her attention back to her and to offer some comfort. "Maybe you'll realize that if you share the pain, the weight on your shoulders will seem easier to bear." Regina throws her a death glare, apparently she doesn't appreciate the overly cheesy words, and Emma breaks into a sheepish grin. "Hey! I'm talking out of experience here," she says defensively in a playful tone.

Regina smiles lopsidedly at Emma in spite of herself. When she realizes this, she throws another fuming gaze at the blonde and looks away from her again.

Emma's smile falls, realizing her mistake. "Just…" Her voice is serious again and almost desperate now as she squeezes the brunette's arm tenderly, "let me in, please."

Regina turns her head around to look at her with big, tear-filled eyes. The sight is enough to make Emma's heart lurch in her chest.

The brunette simply stares at Emma for a very long time, in which Emma's grip on her seems to tighten a little – maybe to offer more comfort or maybe to assure Regina that she's really there – though exactly why, neither of them know.

Then a single tear rolls down Regina's cheek and Emma brushes it away delicately with her thumb. The tender gesture is enough to finally make Regina unleash all the anguish that she'd been building up inside and to burst into tears.

Emma immediately wraps an arm around the brunette as a reflex and brings her close to her body. "Shh," Emma whispers soothingly into Regina's hair, "I'm here with you, Regina." Emma tucks her chin on top of the brunette's head and softly says, "We will do this together."

They remain like that until Regina's sobs subside and then a little more, all the while Emma raking her fingers through impossibly soft dark hair and rubbing the small of Regina's back with her free hand. Neither of them seems eager to break the embrace but Regina is rapidly becoming self-conscious again, since the worst of her emotional breakdown has passed, and she finally pulls away from Emma's warm arms.

"I'm sorry," Regina says in a raspy voice, her throat raw from crying. Her eyes are downcast and she suddenly feels embarrassed for having shown so much emotion in front of Emma.

Emma seems to notice though. She's been surprisingly acute to Regina's emotions for a while now, enough to sense when they dramatically change, like they are now.

"Don't," Emma wraps her fingers around the brunette's arm and forces her to meet her eyes again.

When haunted dark eyes meet lush green ones, Emma's expression softens and she purses her lips at the sight of Regina's newly formed tears.

Emma hates this, seeing Regina look so broken inside is damaging her in ways she never thought possible. She shouldn't care about the brunette's pain. She knows that mere months ago she wouldn't have paid a second glance to the sight of her tears. But now… the mere sight is enough to make her heart clench painfully in her chest.

It's oddly strange to her but it feels as if Regina's pain is her own as well, as if she can actually _feel_ what the brunette is feeling. Whatever it is, it's enough to make her want to stop those tears from falling, to comfort Regina. So Emma gives in to those frightening feelings.

Ignoring the pounding of her own heart and Regina's widening eyes Emma leans closer to the brunette and presses her lips against hers.

_**TBC…**_


	5. Chapter 5

Emma's eyes scan the area around her as she walks very slowly through the shrubbery. She's looking for a sharpening stone because she knows - thanks to one too many movies – that hunters or campers often use whetstones to sharpen their blades.

Looking down at her own hunting weapon, she sighs. Emma is in desperate need of one.

She knows she should have attempted to find a whetstone weeks ago, closer to the actual time when she said she wanted to go hunting, but things with Regina had turned a little edgy again.

Ever since their kiss on the cliff, their relationship took a step back again. Regina refused to acknowledge what had transpired between them that night and Emma was constantly afraid to bring the subject up, not wanting to cause a fuss between them. So they were blatantly ignoring it, as if it had never happened.

Emma shakes her head and swings the hatchet viciously to the side, cutting a small branch in her way.

She whishes Regina would just talk to her about it or at least acknowledge that it had actually happened; that Emma had been the one initiating the kiss but that Regina _had_ in fact returned it.

She lets out a heavy breath.

Emma is angry with herself. She doesn't know what came over her at the moment. What exactly was she thinking when she kissed Regina?

She was overcome with emotion, that's for sure. It's not every day that you feel that incredibly close to someone you thought of as your enemy mere months ago. She saw Regina break down in front of her, like she'd never seen her do before, and had felt compelled to comfort the other woman. A normal person would've probably just waited for Regina's sobs to cease but Emma had gone far beyond that, simply because she isn't like most people. She is as emotionally fucked up as Regina is. She never had a mother or even a friend to comfort her through her break downs so now she doesn't know how it's supposed to be done. She had hugged Regina and had tried to soothe her with words – something she'd recently seen Mary Margaret do with Henry a few times – but she had also thought her words and actions weren't being enough to comfort the distressed brunette. So she'd done the one thing she thought could best convey her feelings: she'd kissed her.

Frustrated out of her mind, Emma kicks a twig out of the way and keeps swinging her hatchet blade viciously at the branches to make her way through the dense shrubbery.

Somewhere in the back of her mind Emma can still see the look of pure fear and confusion plastered on Regina's face when Emma broke from their kiss.

_It lasted but a fleeting second, like a flash across the brunette's eyes, but Emma saw it nonetheless._

_For a moment, Emma sat back on her feet, completely flustered and horrified - not so much for what she'd done but for Regina's reaction – with a hand covering her slightly gaping mouth. _

"_Oh God, Regina. I'm sorry." _

_Regina stared at her for a long minute, eyes hard and unforgiving. She was looking at Emma in a way that screamed fear and betrayal. Fear, Emma didn't know why for but betrayal? That, she could understand._

_She'd tried to explain, tried to tell the other woman that she'd fucked up, but Regina sprung to her feet and made for the woods before she could utter a word._

"_Regina, wait!"_

_But she didn't._

That night, Emma thought that their sleeping arrangement was going to be burnt to ashes in front of her eyes but, much to her own surprise, Regina didn't shove her away from their bedroom once Emma headed in for the night.

It's odd, to say the least. She'd thought that Regina wouldn't want to see her for at least a few days, let alone sleep beside her. Not that Emma would complain about it but it's weird. It's as if she is getting mixed signals from the brunette. One of them is telling her that Regina needs space and the other is telling her that she doesn't want to be distanced from her at all.

Since Emma cannot for the life of her fathom what Regina wants from her, whether to be left alone or not, and Regina is too damn proud so as to cave in and just _talk_ to her, their relationship is back on wobbly feet again.

Emma is moving through a particular thick row of greenery when she hears the distinctive rushing sound of water nearby.

She halts her movements and turns her head over her shoulder. She's coming from the South and, if her sense of orientation is not failing her, then she's pretty much sure that the only river they know is at least one kilometer behind her. There's no way that she could have been walking in circles. She's been walking in almost a straight line!

Emma uses her hatchet blade to cut a few more twigs that are blocking her way and finally breaks through the bushes.

When she emerges at the other side, the sight that greets her almost causes her to drop her blade in astonishment.

Emma breaks into a smile. The place is breathtaking.

There's a semi-circular field without any kind of greenery, except for the trimmed grass and a few scattered tiny yellow flowers poking out from it. But, without a doubt, the most mesmerizing trait of the clearing is the waterfall: narrow, loud and sparkly.

Emma can almost feel the coolness and the power of the water as it rushes over the small, protruding rocks on the hillside, and into the small pool three meters below. The water of the lake is the clearest thing Emma has ever seen. You can see through as if it were a piece of glass.

The whole area brings an uplifting feeling that invades Emma completely and makes her smile.

"Wow." Emma says under her breath, mesmerized by the beauty surrounding her. She doesn't dare raise her voice, not wanting to disrupt the quiet of the place.

The blonde takes a few tentative steps toward the pool of water, still afraid that her presence there will somehow ruin the beauty and calmness of this earthly paradise.

When she reaches the edge of the lake, Emma kneels down and dips two fingers into its still, transparent waters. She smiles when she discovers that the temperature of the water is nor freezing cold, neither lukewarm. It's just perfect, like everything else here seems to be.

Emma's eyes follow the random patterns her fingers trace on the surface of the water, enjoying how the movement makes the water ripple.

_Regina is not going to believe this place_, Emma muses. She can almost imagine the look on the brunette's face when she shows it to her.

Emma retrieves her hand and bushes her fingertips across her thighs to dry her moist skin. A moment later, the water stills again and Emma bends over the surface, wanting to lean closer and see her reflection, something she hasn't been able to do for almost four months now.

But when she does, something else catches her attention, making her forget about her intentions. There, on the bottom of the lake, lays a medium-sized flat rock.

"Bingo!" Emma dives her hand elbow deep into the water again, snatching the rock from the lake's depths and placing it on the grass in front of her.

Taking a closer to the rock, Emma realizes that it's exactly what she needs to sharpen her blade: the right size, no sharp edges and flat. A triumphant smile tugs at the corner of her lips and Emma rises to her feet, feeling happier than she's been in months. She can hardly wait to get back to the cabin now.

Emma walks to the tree line again but, before crossing the border between the clearing and the woods, she takes one last lingering glance to the waterfall.

_Yes_, she thinks, _Regina is gonna love it here_.

**[x]**

All the way back to the cabin Emma walks with her mind elsewhere, completely absorbed by the beauty that she's been witness to just moments ago. It's amazing how it's the little things in life that can, somehow, evoke the purest and most wonderful sensations inside us. Emma had never expected to find such a paradise on this island, mostly because she's been on it for four months now and she's never come across something remotely similar before.

It's true that she decided not to wander too far from the cabin ever since she and Regina found it but, now that she did, Emma can't help but wonder what else lays hidden in this island of theirs. She would certainly not oppose to finding a Mc Donald's or a Starbucks. Come to think of it, that would be glorious.

Emma wonders what Regina would think if there was actually a Mc Donald's hidden deep within the forest. Possibly she would chain her to a tree trunk to stop her from munching on the junk food as if it was a matter of life or death.

Yeah, that would be such a Regina Mills' move.

Emma shakes her head in amusement, already picturing Regina's expression in the back of her mind. Using her rusty hatchet blade to cut some loose twigs, Emma surges forward, breaking through the dense greenery and coming to stand inside the clearing that has become her second home by now.

Emma sheathes her blade and makes her way through the clearing with brisk steps. After so many months of feeling like a moping rag this sudden feeling of excitement is filling her with renewed energy and optimism. She's dying to reach the brunette and tell her all about her latest discovery.

Emma feels that after all they have endured they deserve something like this happening to them. It's like a small reprieve from all their worries and grievances.

When she reaches the cabin, Emma swings the door open and steps through the entrance so fast that she almost but barges in. Her eyes immediately scan the area in search of the brunette.

The place looks empty but, upon taking a closer look at the kitchen, Emma finds two clean wooden plates – the ones Regina and her use to eat their meals – perfectly set on the table. The vases and cutlery are also on the table, but everything there is clean and unused. She finds it strange but she says nothing. Thinking that maybe Regina is inside the bedroom, she walks over to the door and finds it slightly ajar.

Emma takes a peek inside.

Regina is on the bed, lying on her side, asleep.

Emma frowns at the sight and she rubs the underside of her chin. In all the months that they've been here, Emma has never once seen Regina napping.

Never.

Unlike her, Regina only sleeps a few hours at night. Usually, she goes to bed before Emma heads in and she wakes up right before dawn.

Another thought suddenly rises in her mind. What if Regina is sick and that's why she's napping?

Emma swallows nervously. The mere thought of one of them being sick on a stranded island like this one can turn out to be more of a nightmare than anything else they've faced so far. What if Regina is coming down with something serious? Like… what if she needs meds or something? There's nowhere she can go to get any sort of medication here.

It suddenly dawns on Emma that if either of them comes down with something serious or gets severely injured – the kind of injury that requires a doctor or immediate assistance – they are pretty much screwed.

Slipping quietly into the room, Emma walks toward the brunette and bends over her sleeping form. She brushes dark hair off Regina's forehead to feel her temperature but when her palm comes in contact with the brunette's skin, Regina's eyes snap open and she grips her wrist in an iron grip, causing Emma to startle at the sudden movement.

"What are you doing?" Regina hisses, her voice deep and throaty.

Emma yanks her arm away from the brunette's grasp and cradles her wrist against her chest. "Jesus, Regina. I was just trying to – Fuck!" Emma runs her hands through her blonde locks. She can feel her heart beating erratically in her chest due to the sudden rush of adrenaline. "Do you always do that?" She asks, eyeing the brunette in a disapproving manner.

"What do you mean, dear?"

"That…" Emma points to Regina's body on the bed accusingly, her free hand resting against her chest. "Sleeping with one eye open and one closed."

Regina's eyes widen for a brief second but then she schools her features again until they betray nothing. Whatever runs through her mind at the open accusation, she shrugs it off and asks, "What are you doing here, Emma?" Her voice is soft again, though it sounds tired.

Emma breaks contact with the brunette and lowers her gaze to the floor, feeling suddenly awkward. "I thought… I mean since you left the table set and all. I thought maybe you were feeling ill or something."

"Oh."

Emma snaps her head back up again to look into Regina's dark eyes. "What?"

Regina shakes her head and smiles feebly at Emma, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Nothing, dear."

Emma wants to press Regina, find out what she's so obviously hiding from her, but a nagging feeling inside tells her that maybe she already knows the answer to that question.

Her mind suggests that it must be a few hours past midday, somewhere around two or three in the afternoon. Usually, Emma comes back at twelve or one pm so that they can eat together but today she had been late thanks to her discovery in the forest. Her trek deep into the woods and her time in the waterfall had clearly made her lose track of time.

Emma frowns.

Could it be that Regina had been waiting for her? That she fixed them lunch and waited for Emma to return in order to eat together?

She chuckles to herself. _Nah_. Regina would never do something like that… would she?

Four months ago Regina would have possibly spat on her food at the first chance she got but now… now things are different. Regina has changed, she has mellowed somewhat. She's still irascible but a lot more malleable. Even Emma herself has changed. She's finally beginning to face her problems like she's supposed to: by staying rather than turning from them and running the opposite direction. She's learnt to open up a little, to let people in, and so has Regina.

It amazes Emma to know how much they have changed in these past four months. They both have changed as individuals but so has their relationship and Emma dare say it's done so for the better. They went from downright hating each other to having to learn how to put up with one another, how to turn their volatile and fragile relationship into something that can be now easily described as comfortable and, why not, somewhat amicable too.

So is it really too crazy to think that Regina could have been waiting for Emma to come back and that, when it clearly took her hours longer than anticipated, had decided to go to sleep instead of eating alone?

Something inside her tells Emma that, yes, it is entirely preposterous. Regina would never do something as domestic and selfless as that. But another part in her, the part that is conscious of the brunette's slow but constant changes, tells her that it is more than possible, that in fact, it's exactly what Regina did; she waited for her to come back.

The discovery renders her speechless for a few minutes, which makes Regina eye her with both amusement and curiosity at the same time.

Emma shakes her head to clear her thoughts. She knows she has to say something; Regina is still waiting for her to explain. "I have a surprise for you." She says in a much chipper tone and it sounds completely out of the blue, as if she's making it up just to distract Regina.

The brunette furrows her brows together in confusion, clearly thinking that the blonde is acting deliberately weird, and sits up to rest her back against the headboard. Then she lets out a tired breath and folds her arms over her lap.

"Which surprise?" Regina asks in a subdued tone. She doesn't sound the least excited and it makes Emma's face fall for the tiniest of seconds.

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you about it, right?" Emma asks rhetorically and plasters on a smile that stretches across her face.

Regina's eyebrows rise at a sharp angle and she twists her tongue, clearly showing her lack of interest in the matter as well as her irritation for having been woken for something as trivial as this. She's about to roll her eyes at Emma's puppy eyes look too when the woman just grabs her by the forearms and tugs her a little, urging her to stand up.

"Come on, Regina!" Emma presses, the smile on her face never wavering, as she slides the sheets off Regina's body. "You're gonna love it. I promise."

Regina stares at the blonde, clearly not amused, but if she knows something about Emma is that the woman will not relent until she's had her way. So she huffs in protest but lets the blonde pull her to her feet nonetheless. "Fine." She growls and rolls her eyes again at the Cheshire cat's smile that Emma rewards her with.

**[x]**

The look on Regina's face is better than Emma could have ever imagined. Her dark eyes go wide as plates and her mouth parts in shock, as she takes in the beauty surrounding her.

Regina's stance is rigid, as if she'd turned into stone, one arm raised in front of her with the palm facing out and the other halfway to her gaping mouth.

Regina is clearly stunned mute and her priceless reaction makes Emma want to pat her own shoulder to congratulate herself. She doesn't do that though, but she can hardly suppress the chuckle that escapes her mouth.

It's only in that moment that Regina appears to snap out of her haze and sharply turn to look at Emma, who is bent over, both palms on her kneecaps, laughing loud and unrestrictedly, as if she doesn't have a care in the world.

Regina's own lips turn upwards into a smile as she looks at the blonde, who is reduced to a fit of laughter, nearly rolling on the floor.

"I told you it was worth it, didn't I?" Emma says once she manages to control her laughter enough to speak properly.

The look on Emma's face is not too different from Regina's own look of wonder and joy. Her lush green eyes are sparkling with mirth and her skin is now a rosy shade of pink.

Regina smiles lopsidedly at the blonde. "That you did, dear."

Emma mirrors the brunette's smile and they hold each other's stare for a long minute, both basking in the joy that this small moment is giving them. For the first time in months, the two women feel free and content.

"Let's dive in." Emma suggests, beaming. She doesn't wait for Regina's answer and runs to the pool; she's so excited that she can barely wait to jump right in. "Come on!" Emma shouts over her shoulder at the brunette, who is still rooted to the ground.

"Emma, I don't think..." Regina watches as Emma comes to a halt in front of the pool and rapidly reaches for the hem of her white shirt. Her dark eyes widen when the blonde starts sliding her shirt up, exposing the sun-tanned skin of her back. "I don't…" she trails off again when Emma pulls the shirt over her head and tosses it aside, leaving her bare from the waist-up. Then, Emma reaches down for her boots and makes quick work of the laces, before kicking them off and going straight for her pants. That is enough for Regina and she turns around before she can be witness to Emma's buttocks.

She's not sure when but her heart has started beating frantically in her chest and she hates the feeling.

Not even a minute passes before Regina hears the sound of water splashing over the thunder of the cascade and knows that Emma has dived in already. She casts a look over her shoulder and sees Emma neck deep into the pool and a broad, happy smile adorning her face.

"Are you going to join me?" Emma shouts over the roar of the cascade and splashes some water playfully with her hand at Regina.

Regina struggles to keep her eyes locked on Emma's but she's having a hard time doing so. The thought that the blonde is fully naked underwater makes her incredibly uncomfortable, though by what, she doesn't know.

She's not going to strip naked and jump into the water like a savage and she's definitely not going to wet her clothes. They have very little clothing so as to risk ruining them by being so careless. Plus, she doesn't even want to think of being in the water while Emma is stark naked. She refuses to even address the thought of it. It's preposterous.

"I don't think so." She says, shifting positions on her feet. She sounds suddenly serious. "Maybe some other time."

Emma smiles at her, though it's lost its beam, and Regina whirls around, heading straight back to the forest.

As she walks through the greenery, different images of Emma assault her mind. Emma's tanned and muscular skin, the flexing of her muscles, her sparkling green eyes, her honest and winning smile, her lean and taut body…

"Argh!" Regina drawls.

She shouldn't be thinking of Emma. Let alone like that.

It's all Emma's fault. She's so carefree with her body, always preferring to move around with less clothing on than proper.

And the seclusion. Yes. That is messing with her mind too.

Four months deprived of the sighting of any other human being is definitely playing tricks on her mind; because there is no other rational explanation for the way her body reacted when Emma started undressing in front of her.

Her body has needs, needs that haven't been seen to for a very long time. So of course she would react at the sight of Emma. Yes. It's only logical.

Regina lets out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and feels the tension that was accumulating in her shoulders beginning to ebb away. She doesn't desire Emma; she just reacted at the sight of her for some very obvious reasons. And she shouldn't feel embarrassed to show her own body to the blonde. After all, the other woman doesn't seem to have any issues showing hers. Why should she feel any different? She is not known for being ashamed of her own body, quite the opposite in fact. She's always used her own sexuality as a means to an end.

Regina stops in her tracks. She's not going to let the blonde think that she is some blushing maid on her wedding night. She's a Queen and queens do not shy away from people, not matter how stark naked they are.

Having made up her mind, Regina turns around and begins to head back to the clearing.

**[x]**

Emma floats in the deep freshwater lagoon, eyes closed, enjoying the way the sunrays warm her moist skin. She feels wonderful and at peace. This is precisely what she were needing, the peace, the quiet, the solitude and tranquility that this place provides.

After a long while, Emma emerges from the pool and perches on a rock, where the sun will dry and keep her warm. She lays her head back comfortably and closes her eyes again. Her body is relaxed, since all the tension has ebbed away with the water as she swam, but a whole different kind of tension is growing in her. She recognizes it for what it is and decides to indulge herself a little. After all, she's been restraining herself for four months now. She deserves the release.

Emma slowly parts her thighs and her hand slides down, fingertips trailing a straight path across her damp skin.

**[x]**

Regina is about to burst into the clearing when a muffled cry freezes her on the spot. She slouches down and peeks from behind a tree.

Emma is laying on a flat rock, her head lolling back and her right hand between her parted legs.

Regina's eyes widen at the sight of Emma touching herself.

It feels sinister to hide in the shadows, watching Emma give herself pleasure in the open, in the light. But Regina can't get her feet to move. She's rooted to the ground, staring from the lush screen of the flora and their shadows.

She knows this isn't right. She shouldn't spy on Emma like that but the sight has her completely captivated, so drawn to her that she doesn't have the strength to leave.

So she stays there, hidden behind the greenery and watches Emma; watches the wisps of blonde hair framing her face dry, watches her eyes move behind her lids, her mouth part and her tongue peek out to trace the shape of perfect rosy lips. She watches her fingers slip between her thighs, glide between her sex, emerge glistening and slide between again.

Regina watches Emma's left hand move up to cup a perfect breast, knead the firm, rounded flesh and capture a stiff nipple. She watches as Emma pinches and pulls and the way her head lolls back in pleasure.

She watches as Emma's green moss eyes open and fix her. As if she knows she's been there, all along.

_**Tbc…**_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the long wait but life got in the way. I'll try to have the next chapter up asap, though it could be within a week or two. It'll only be the case for the next chapter, since I have the following two already written. As a reward for your patience, this chapter is 7k words! So, enjoy!**

"_We don't know what we have until we lose it."_

Thunder roars in the sky above, as the first droplets of water begin to fall down.

For a moment, Emma halts her steps and takes a look at the gray clouds covering the once blue sky. A large raindrop lands on her forehead and she wipes it away angrily, stupidly smacking herself in the process.

"Fuck!" She spits, kicking the ground viciously. "Fuck! Fuck!"

She can't believe how quickly things with Regina had spiraled from nice and fun to a downright nightmare. Regina had literally found her in the worst situation possible and that had led straight to a fight with the brunette.

_"I see that you have made yourself quite comfortable in this paradise of yours, Miss Swan." Regina snaps, her voice laced with poison._

_Emma jumps to her feet, hands fumbling to cover whatever dignity she has left, but still looking like a deer caught in the headlights._

_"I'm glad to know that my son's absence does not affect your libido in the slightest," Regina takes a step forward, leaving the security of the shadows to stand under the blazing sun. "But then again, you were always like a horny teenager with raging hormones."_

_Emma shakes her head, desperately trying to come out of her stupor. She opens her mouth quite a few times, but no sound comes forth. Not that Regina would have let her interrupt her onslaught anyway._

_"I very much hope you were at least able to release your… _tension_." She spits the last word like it is the most disgusting thing she's ever said and turns on her heel, heading back into the forest as fast as her legs would go._

She'd been an idiot and Regina was right; indulging herself with mundane pleasures such as that one when Henry was still in Neverland, still as far from them as day one.

Emma didn't know how she could have allowed herself to forget, even for the slightest minute.

Finding Henry, finding a way out of the island, was the priority. Everything else was irrelevant and she should have known that better than anyone.

Regina was right. She'd been right to snap at her like that and now she has to apologize to her.

But first she needs to find her.

The rain grows heavy a couple of minutes later and large raindrops begin to hit Emma's face.

The storm and the rain caused the temperature to drop significantly and now there's an icy wind whipping at her flushed face like knives.

Although she's beginning to get soaked, Emma keeps moving through the shrubbery, struggling with the branches and trees that are moving back and forth with the force of the wind. She doesn't know where Regina headed off to when she left the clearing, but she finds that her feet are carrying her on its own accord towards the cliff; it's one of Regina's favorite choices to hide in when she's feeling angry or sad.

A lightning flashes in the sky, illuminating everything around her for a short moment, and is quickly followed by the rumble of yet another thunder.

The downpour is making the task of watching where she steps almost impossible. If she doesn't reach that cliff soon, Emma will probably have to head back to the cabin. It's far too dangerous to be outside in this storm.

The most stupid thing about this whole ordeal is that Emma hadn't even decided to get some release for the sake of it. Deep down she knows it had little to do with the needs of the body and more with the needs of the mind. She'd needed the distraction, that blissful sensation that spreads throughout your body during the aftermath. She'd needed that simply because there's no other way in which she can let go of all the tension and worry and fuckery that she's enduring. She can't run away because she's stuck on an island, she'd like to drown her sorrows on a nice tumbler of whiskey but she can't do that either, she'd like to get laid with a total stranger and disappear in the morning but, guess what? She can't do that either. And, yeah, maybe getting off out in the open like that hadn't been the brightest decision she'd ever made but hell if she's not allowed at least some outlet.

It'd been only that: an outlet, but she can see how Regina could have easily misunderstood it. She doesn't really need to run after the brunette, let alone explain anything to her. After all, she's an adult and she can do whatever she damn pleases, shallow or not. But, truth be told, after spending four months with the other woman, Emma is beginning to care about what Regina thinks, about what she thinks of her and in general. She just doesn't want her to think that she's forgotten about Henry or that she doesn't care anymore, because that can't be further from the truth.

Wending through the dense growth of ferns catching at her feet, the tangle of vines and grasping branches, Emma's mind gets tangled up in thoughts of Regina. She can't quite shake off the sight of the brunette's eyes when she found her sprawled naked on that rock. There'd been a second, just the briefest of moments, in which a dark mist had clouded those honey brown eyes. Regina's brows had furrowed together and her bottom lip had trembled.

Emma shouldn't probably know what that look on the brunette's face meant. She shouldn't, she just shouldn't know her former enemy that well.

But she does.

She knows what it means simply because you don't get to live for four months in complete seclusion with only one person as your living companion without learning at least something about them. But that's not all. Try adding Regina's natural tendency to express everything through her eyes and Emma's super power to that.

So yes, Emma knows what that incredibly short look had meant. It meant that Regina was hurt and that it was _she_ who had hurt her.

Her _actions_ had hurt the brunette.

A root catches her foot and she slams to the ground. A thorn or branch cuts her cheek and she growls, taking a hand to the wound. There is no blood, so the cut is only superficial.

Emma scrambles to her feet, mindlessly running her palm down her thigh to clean the dirt off her skin as she stands, and continues on. She's close now.

The downpour hasn't ceased in the slightest. If anything, it has grown significantly heavier and now the lightning bolts and thunders are more frequent.

Emma is beginning to get worried. The weather is dangerous to be outside in, both for herself and for Regina. It's dark, it's raining and the trees are moving so wildly that Emma is sure that the weakest trunks will shortly start to break and fall down.

She's tired but she wills her feet to move faster, as fast as her legs would go, just to get to Regina as soon as possible.

With a final grunt, Emma surges forward, breaking through the dense greenery to find herself standing on the cliff: _alone_.

Regina's not there.

Emma cannot help but feel a sense of both disappointment and worry rise in the pit of her stomach. She'd expected Regina to be at the cliff, so much actually that she hadn't given much room for thought to any other possible places that the woman could have gone to.

On the other hand, though, if Regina is not at the cliff then she's most probably back at the cabin, sitting on the couch with her feet tucked under her, a blanket over her shoulders, a mug of tea on her hand, sipping absentmindedly as she listens to the sound of the rain outside.

Yeah. That's probably what's happening right now. Regina is at the cabin while she's out here, on the cliff, soaked to the bone and endangering herself in vain.

_Well, at least someone's safe_, Emma thinks grimly as she turns around and begins the trek back to the cabin. Hopefully, she'll cover the distance fast enough to enjoy some of Regina's just brewed tea before it gets cold.

**[x]**

She doesn't even need to put a step inside to realize that Regina is not in the cabin either. The place is dark, no fire has been lit, there's no water boiling, no smell of recently brewed tea… nothing.

For a whole minute, Emma remains standing under the threshold, staring at the emptiness inside. Water is dripping from her pants and hair, a pool of water already forming at her feet.

If Regina sees the mess she's making, she'll be furious at her.

Somehow, though, that thought doesn't even worry her right now. In fact, she almost wishes she could have the brunette snapping at her, just so that she wouldn't have to be face to be with an empty room instead.

Emma leans her head on the doorway and closes her eyes. If Regina's not here then she's still out in the rain.

A loud thunder makes the sky crackle and Emma opens her eyes again. She turns around to look outside, where the rain is falling heavily and the wind is rocking the trees back and forth with unnatural violence.

She can't shake the thought of Regina being in actual danger just by staying out on a night like this. The woman should know better, she should have come back already.

Regina is a careful person, she makes reasonable choices; she's impulsive but she would never deliberately endanger herself so stupidly like this. That's something Emma would do in a flash of anger, but not Regina, not the stoic, impassible, stone-hearted Regina.

It's so out of character for the brunette that it makes Emma wonder if something bad may have already happened to the woman, because an explanation like that one makes a whole lot more sense than the former.

Emma's fingers curve around the doorframe and she grips the wood so hard that her knuckles turn white.

It hadn't really occurred to her how very vulnerable both of them are here, in complete isolation on a stranded island, but realization is finally beginning to dawn on her. Should something happen to Regina…

_No_.

Emma shakes her head, wanting to dismiss the thought. It unnerves her, this feeling of helplessness that she experiences rising in her gut every time she thinks of losing Regina. It's stupid, bordering on ridiculous, this constant worry that she feels for her. It lays dormant in the back of her mind but it is present, latent, unwavering. Emma doesn't know when she began to care for Regina but now, actually realizing that she does is absolutely terrifying, because what if something really bad happened to her? Caring about Regina can only mean trouble and heartache in a place where the only two people alive are just them.

Here everything is heightened, every emotion, every fight, every feeling, just because the whole world has suddenly been reduced to them. It's terrifying, utterly terrifying. This is exactly the one place where the phrase '_the whole world revolves around you'_ is properly applied.

Here everything revolves around them and if something bad happens to Regina… well, she could literally be losing the only one person in this world aside from her. And that, yes… that's pretty much mind-fucking.

Emma takes a deep breath, wanting to stop her heart from beginning to hammer in her chest from the anxiety she's feeling.

These things that she feels for Regina are confusing to her, to the point where Emma doesn't know how much she feels for the woman and how much is this whole paradox of being the only two people left on the island that is messing with her mind. Regardless of the answer, Emma feels for Regina. She feels anger, she feels worry, and… and she cares for her. She cares about what Regina thinks of her, how she feels. Emma hurts when Regina cries, she gets fucking angry when Regina snaps at her just for the sake of it, she feels a strange warmth spreading through her when Regina does something unselfish however small the gesture may be.

And maybe it's stupid, maybe it's illogical and absurd and against every odd that can be but she wants to see Regina well… _happy_, in every sense of the word. So yes, there's little she can actually do to stop her heart from starting beating erratically in her chest with worry for the other woman.

Where is she? Has something happened to her? Is she hurt? Should she try to go out and find her again?

No. it's too late now, there's barely any light left. Night is almost upon them and the rainstorm is getting worse; so bad actually that Emma can hardly hear anything apart from the beating of the rain on the roof and treetops.

Now it's not the time to go after Regina. She will have to wait for her to come back on her own or for the rain to cease unleashing its fury onto the island.

Until then Emma can only hope that, wherever Regina is, she's fine and sheltered from the rain.

**[x]**

Emma lets out an irritated puff of air before coming to a sitting position on the bed.

She can't sleep and, to be honest, she doesn't even know why she cared to try in the first place. Emma is tired, the events of the day have taken its toll on her, but her mind is constantly reeling with thoughts, which had made her toss and turn on the bed until she finally lost the battle against exhaustion.

Emma sits on the edge of the bed, letting her bare feet come in contact with the cool surface of the floor. She needs to feel grounded right now and the coolness of the wood against her warm skin will just do that for her.

She turns her head over her shoulder, gazing in vane at the empty spot on the bed beside her own. Regina is still not back. Her side of the bed remains perfectly untouched, the covers neatly straightened out, as if no one has ever slept on that side.

Emma bites down on her bottom lip, worrying it.

The rain pelting against the roof sounds more like the rattling from a machine gun than the normal tip-tap that she's so used to hearing back in the city.

Emma stands up, no longer able to remain sitting still anymore. She needs to do something, anything, just so that she can get her mind to stop assaulting her with thoughts of the brunette.

She heads over to the adjacent room and picks up some kindle to toss into the fireplace in order to start a fire.

After a couple of minutes, the flames have enough strength not to die out without her assistance, so Emma takes two steps backwards, until the back of her knees hit the edge of the couch and she lets herself fall down on it.

With her head lolling back and her right hand ghosting over her closed eyelids, she sighs heavily.

"Where are you, Regina?" Emma breathes out, her voice catching in her throat with emotion.

Hot tears well up in her eyes and Emma has to make a supreme effort to blink them away. She refuses to let them fall; just like she refuses to lose her hope that Regina is and will be all right. But then, possibly the weakest and most negative part in her – the one that constantly reminds her that she's little more than an orphan abandoned by the side of the road – tells her that no, that Regina is not ok, that she will not come back, that she left her, just like everyone else in her life seems to do. Her parents, Neal, Henry, Mary Margaret and David again, and now…

No.

Please, no.

Emma buries her head in her hands and shakes her head. Chills run down her spine, though it has little to do with the weather. It's the coldness she feels inside, the fear, the uncertainty. It's going to drive her mad.

Who would have thought so? The Savior, frightened to death over the possibility of losing the Evil Queen, the woman who, by all means, was the reason she had a shitty life in the first place.

The Savior and the Evil Queen. It makes no sense, no sense at all.

But then again, nothing in her life seems to have been making sense for a long while now. Maybe nothing in her life has ever made sense at all.

Emma slaps her hands down on her kneecaps and stands up again. No matter how much she tries, she can't stay still for more than a few moments at a time. So she walks over to the window and presses her shoulder against the wall, letting her weight rest heavily on it.

She places the palm of her hand against the window pane and whispers, "Please, come back."

**[x]**

Emma is not sure when, but somehow she must have fallen asleep against the wall. At least one or two hours must have passed because the fire has died down significantly, although there are still some embers burning.

Her stiff muscles protest when she pushes herself apart from the wall and makes her way over to the fireplace to restart the fire.

She picks up a long stick that she and Regina use to poke the fire from the floor. The small flames crackle and seem to protest when she pokes them, but the fire instantly regains some of its lost strength. Emma tosses a few more logs and twigs inside the fireplace and steps back to look at her handiwork.

The flames roar and dance, and the sight alone is enough to lull Emma into a deep trance.

Regina's face appears in her mind. She has a deep gash on her forehead and it's bleeding. Her clothes are glued to her body; she's wet. Sand is covering her feet, as if she's purposely buried them under it.

Emma takes a look around: they're back at the beach, back to that first day.

It's the day after the shipwreck, the day when her world turned upside down yet again, the day she lost not only Henry but the rest of her family, too.

Her moss green eyes find the brunette's honey brown ones. Regina's here, she's the only one here. The only one who hasn't left, the only one who keeps staying, like a constant in her life. She's the one whose presence never wavered since the day they met. Regina was and still is like her shadow, first following her everywhere around out of fear, believing that she had arrived in Storybrooke to take back the child that she gave away, now forced to be her companion on a stranded island.

In a place where there're no people, in a place where there are no mirrors, Regina has become Emma's entire world. Whether she wants it or not, whether she sought it or not, Regina is now the only thing Emma's eyes see, metaphorically and literally as well.

Emma blinks and hot tears spring from her eyes. She didn't realize she was crying.

If Regina sees her tears, she doesn't show sign of it. She just stays impossibly still, eyes glued to Emma's own.

"Where are you?" Emma whispers and she wipes at her tears angrily. Her voice sounds lost and broken but she's sure Regina heard her all the same. "Why don't you come back?" Her heart pounds painfully in her chest. It's so unlike Regina to disappear like this. She never wanders too far from the cabin, she doesn't storm off, and she doesn't venture out to new places in the island. They have a simple routine; they stick to it. Regina never breaks it, she never breaks it.

Emma shakes her head when she notices that she's still crying, with more anguish than before. "Please." It's so unlike her to plead too but she's desperate now. Regina would never do something like this. Regina doesn't run when hell breaks loose, she stays, she fights. "Tell me where you are." The thought of losing the only person left in her life is unbearable. Just thinking about it reduces her to shreds. "Please, don't leave me too."

"Em… Emma." Regina's voice sounds hoarse but feeble, as if she's been screaming for hours and is now both physically and mentally exhausted. So much, that even the simple task of talking presents her with a challenge.

Emma knits her eyebrows together. She didn't see Regina speaking. She heard her, but her lips didn't move. She's still standing as rigidly still with her honey brown eyes staring blankly at her.

"Em…"

_Again_. This time the call is even more weak and desperate than before and it takes Emma but a second to snap out of her deep self-induced reverie and sharply turn around.

Her mouth falls at the sight that greets her.

_Regina_.

The woman is soaked to the skin; her clothes and hair are sticking to her body like glue. Her normal olive skin is now alarmingly pale. There are rings under her eyes, black, that contrast with the pale skin, making her look incredibly sick. Her eyes are wild and red-rimmed, as if she's been crying for hours on end, although Emma doesn't think it's the case.

What alarms Emma the most, though, is the way in which Regina is standing. Her legs look like they're barely holding her up. She's leaning against the doorframe, trembling from head to toes.

She should get Regina inside and help warm her up but she doesn't do that. Her instincts take over and the first one she has, much to her dismay, is to cross the distance between the two of them with two big, wide steps and engulf Regina in a bone-crushing embrace.

"Thank you." She breathes out desperately, clinging onto the other woman like a lifeline. "Thank you." The words simply leave her mouth without previous thought; they stumble out of her mouth, true to the sheer desperation and worry she'd been feeling up to now.

Regina would have normally stiffen in her arms or shoved her away angrily, reluctant of the contact. But today she doesn't. Instead, she leans more heavily onto Emma, letting her support the most part of her weight. Whether she's welcoming the contact or she's too weak to do anything else is unclear, but Emma could care less. Regina is back, which means she didn't leave her like everybody else.

She came back, she didn't abandon her.

When Regina sags against her, Emma takes her by the shoulders and pushes her softly apart from her. She notices that Regina's eyes are half-lidded and somewhat unfocused. The woman can hardly support her head anymore and a curtain of black hair falls against her chest, Regina's forehead landing on her collarbone. Almost immediately, her own skin warms up with the heat emanating from the other woman's flesh.

Her chest tightens with worry again. It seems that the worst part has only just begun.

Emma wraps an arm around the brunette's waist and holds her close to her body. "C'mon, Regina." She says, prompting the woman to move. "We need to get you warmed up." Her eyes go to their bedroom door but she quickly changes destinations. The fire will do better than the sheets.

Emma has to practically drag Regina to the couch because the other woman is practically unconscious due to her feverish state. She helps her to a sitting position, holding Regina's body with her own as she begins to remove her of her clothes.

As she undresses her, Emma tries not to think of how small Regina looks right now, how very vulnerable and how very… _human_. Right now there's not a single trace of the Evil Queen, she's just Regina, the woman, a vulnerable human being prone to every disease and injury, much like any other person in the world.

Once Regina's bare, wearing nothing else but her underwear, Emma helps her lie down on the couch. Then, she runs over to the bedroom and retrieves the covers from the bed, draping them around the shivering woman.

The fire is roaring and strong and, with the covers around her body, Regina should start warming up soon. As for the fever, Emma doesn't really know what to do about that. She never had anyone sick under her care before and whenever she was sick, she resulted to aspirins and antibiotics. So she can only hope that Regina will wake up soon enough to tell her what do to or that the fever will break on its own. Emma hopes that will be the case or, else, she doesn't know what she's going to do.

Emma doesn't really know when it happened, but the rain finally stopped and now the sun is breaking over the horizon. Sunlight is coming directly through the top of the window, bathing the area with its light. It makes things seem a little more hopeful than they did during the night and day before. Emma is thankful for that.

Her green eyes train on Regina's small frame on the couch. The covers are tucked up to her chin but she's still trembling under them.

Emma kneels in front of her and starts rubbing her hands on the covers, trying to produce some more heat for Regina. It seems to help a little because Regina groans and her eyelids flutter, as if trying to open. She doesn't stir though; she remains prisoner of her feverish dreams.

Emma wishes she knew what Regina could have possibly been thinking, staying out during that heavy rainstorm like that. Did she wander off so far that she got lost?

She's uncomfortable kneeling on the floor so she sits on the edge of the couch, beside the sleeping brunette. Emma had never seen Regina look as fragile as she does right now. It unnerves her. Up until she found herself stranded on an island with her, Emma had never stopped to think about Regina the way she does now. She'd never thought of the woman as someone weak or as a person who could actually break down. Emma had always seen Regina like a furious tornado that could sweep an entire town just by sheer will. She never imagined that this tornado could have its weakened moments, where sheer will could do very little to help.

Gazing into Regina's face, Emma notices just how peaceful and calm she looks when she's asleep. It's yet another thing that she has overlooked. She's been sharing a bed with the brunette for some time now but she has never stopped to look at her as she sleeps. It makes her feel somewhat like a hypocrite for not having done it before. It's like having a beautiful gold clock sitting on a shelf just gathering dust, not once noticing that it has a purpose, a reason to be. Never once noticing how beautiful it is or what makes it tick.

Emma thinks that the analogy can perfectly apply to Regina, more often than not seen as merely the Evil Queen. People tend to fail to see this other side of her, the side that makes her beautiful; when her brow is not creased, when her eyes don't look haunted, when her features are relaxed enough to look peaceful and so many years younger than what she truly is.

Emma reaches forward, hovering above the brunette to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She's so caught up in the moment, so deep in her haze that she fails to notice two dark eyes fluttering open beneath her.

Regina blinks a few times, trying to chase away the sleep from her eyes. Then, honey brown eyes seek out moss green ones until they're gazes meet. "Emma?" Her voice sounds like a groan, raspy and throaty, betraying the exhaustion Emma is sure she feels inside.

The blonde knows she has to sit up straight again, put some distance between them, because her face is so close to Regina's that her breaths are touching, but something deep within her keeps her exactly where she is, hovering above her, almost breathing into her.

Regina, for her own part, doesn't say anything else. She just holds Emma's gaze, her tired dark eyes looking intently into Emma's green ones. They stay like that for a long while until Emma breaks the odd, yet comfortable silence that has formed between them.

"You had me worried for a while there." She smiles teasingly at the brunette, yet the smile doesn't quite reach her eyes.

Regina swallows audibly before answering. "I got caught up… in the storm. Couldn't-couldn't find the way back." She's having trouble speaking, struggling to get the words out.

"Would you like some water?"

Regina nods and Emma leaves her spot beside her to fetch her some water from the kitchen. She and Regina keep a bucket with fresh water inside, wary of situations like this. Now it's coming in handy.

Emma walks back to the couch and sits next to her again. With her left hand she tilts the back of Regina's head up and with the right one Emma brings the glass of water to her lips, helping her drink the liquid.

Regina takes small sips at a time, until she's sated. Only then Emma sets the glass down on the floor and turns her attention back to the brunette. This time, when she speaks, she sounds a lot better than before. "It was idiotic of me to wander that far off into the woods. I should have foreseen the storm coming."

Emma means to tell her of the scare she gave her, how much she worried about her, but the words won't come out. Instead, she says, "It wasn't your fault, Regina." but it sounds half-hearted and Regina seems to notice, although she doesn't comment on it.

Emma is about to add something else, like how glad she is that Regina's back or how relieved she is that she's fine, when Regina coughs, causing her whole body to shake. Emma gives her a worried look when Regina's coughs continue and she bends down to pick up the glass of water and hand it to the woman again.

Regina drinks eagerly this time, forgetting all about the small sips she's supposed to take. She makes a guttural sound when she's done and Emma sets the glass back down again.

Regina lays her head back on the couch with her eyes shut closed, breathing heavily. It looks like she's fighting down nausea.

Emma sees that Regina has a faint sheen of sweat on her brow, so she brushes the hair off her forehead to feel her temperature.

It feels abnormally high.

"Regina, you need to tell me what I can do to help break your fever because I don't have the slightest clue about what to do right now."

The brunette doesn't reply, nor shows signs of having heard her. She keeps breathing with difficulty, her breath coming out in large gusts.

"Regina?" Emma asks, feeling a tinge of worry creeping up inside of her again. "Please, tell me what to do."

Regina swallows again, probably to moisten her dry throat, and opens her cracked lips to speak, though her eyes remain closed. "Cloth. Water. Forehead." That's all she manages to say before her weakened state takes the best of her and she surrenders to her exhaustion again.

"Ok." Emma says to herself. "Ok, I can do that." She gets back on her feet, moving with brisk steps towards the sink and fetching a cloth from one of the lower cabinets. She wets the cloth and walks back to the sleeping woman.

Emma takes her seat beside her again and dabs the sweat from Regina's forehead away before running it over the skin on her neck, collarbone and head. Regina whimpers in her sleep, reacting to the feel of the cool cloth against her heated flesh, but it seems to soothe her as well, and so Emma keeps doing it for a very long while, until her arm grows tired.

She doesn't know how much time she remains by Regina's side, running the cloth over her feverish skin and then resting some, but she figures it must be a couple of hours because tiredness seems to end up winning her own battle and she falls asleep, half lying over Regina's torso, with her head resting against the brunette's stomach and her hand keeping the wet cloth loosely pressed against her forehead.

**[x]**

Emma wakes up to a pair of brown eyes staring back at her.

Regina is awake and she's smirking at her in a way that says she knows something that Emma doesn't.

The blonde takes a whole minute to completely blink herself awake and realize what she's been using as a pillow. She smiles sheepishly, understanding why Regina is eyeing her with so much amusement etched upon her face.

"Sorry." She mumbles groggily as she straightens up, leaving the warmth and unexpected comfort that Regina's body provided. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, I would say." Regina replies. Her voice sounds still raspy but stronger than it did before.

Emma bends forward and reaches with her hand to touch Regina's forehead. However, the brunette squirms away before she can touch her, so Emma settles her knuckles against her cheek instead. Regina's skin is still warm, but at least she doesn't feel like her life is in immediate danger anymore.

"Yeah," Emma agrees, smiling feebly at her. Concern and something that looks a lot like regret clouds her eyes. "Better." She doesn't retrieve her hand and Regina gives her a confused look but doesn't move away either.

It takes a few minutes for Emma to come up with the courage she needs to say the following words. "Regina, I'm sorry." She lets the hand that is cupping Regina's cheek fall limp beside their bodies. The brunette frowns then, boring her eyes intently into Emma's green ones. "What you saw back at the waterfall, I…" She trails off, finding it harder to say the words out loud than when she'd been rehearsing them in her mind. However, Regina keeps her attention focused on her, waiting her out. "It wasn't what it looked like."

"Wasn't it, dear?" Regina asks skeptically, a hint of irony in her tone.

Emma raises her eyes, locking them onto Regina's. She shakes her head. "No. I mean… fuck." She runs her hands through her blonde locks. It's really hard to explain what had happened without sounding either like an emotional wreck or like a complete hypocrite. In the end, she figures that even though the truth will make her look like an idiot, it's still far better than looking like a hypocrite. "This is all my fault." She sighs, lowering her eyes again.

Regina sits back clearly surprised by Emma's admission. It was certainly unexpected. "I'm not quite sure I understand, dear."

When Emma's eyes find Regina's, they are clouded with unshed tears. The sight makes Regina's lips part in surprise yet again.

"This." Emma points with her hand at Regina's form. "You. The way you are right now." She sighs heavily. "Sick. Well, it's my fault."

"Emma, don't…"

"No, Regina." Emma interrupts her, anger and hurt seeping into her voice, though it's not directed at the brunette. It's directed at her. "You ran away because of what you saw back there and I _know_—I get it. I do." she waits for a second before continuing. "I could never forget about Henry, Regina. _Never_." Emma stresses the last word with more emphasis than the others, wanting to convey the message as she strongly as she feels it inside. She could never forget about her son, not even for a second. "What you saw… it wasn't—it wasn't like that. I just-" she lets out a puff of air. "It was an outlet, okay? Nothing else." She lays her hand on top of Regina's smaller one and squeezes it affectionately. "I could never…" Emma's words tangle in her mouth when the hand in hers returns the squeeze, and she looks up to find two tired brown orbs looking intently into hers. "Don't think that because I indulge a little on some mundane thing, it means I am forgetting about Henry or getting a way off the island, because it can't be the furthest thing from the truth. Henry is and will always be my priority, just like finding a way back to him and the rest of my family is. In the mean time, while we do that, I don't think it's so wrong of us to find a moment or a way to let go of all that is weighting us down. I'm sorry if it hurt you. I just want you to know that I could never, not even for a second, forget about our son, no matter what I say or do."

"I know, Emma." Regina says, her voice weak but steady. She's being honest and, by the way her hand is squeezing Emma's, she also wants the blonde to know that.

"But you—" Emma shakes her head once and starts again. "Why did you run off like that, then? Why didn't you come back when the storm started?"

Regina's eyes drop and Emma follows her line of sight. She is looking at their joined hands.

"Well, let's just say that stopping to think things through before acting is not one of my strong suits."

Emma snorts. _Of course_.

That earns her a slap on her hand and a hard stare from the brunette. "Ow!"

"Be quiet, dear." Regina admonishes, though her tone is light and almost playful. It makes Emma smile lopsidedly at her. "As for your second question. Like I said, I wandered off too far and in that storm, I couldn't find my way back. I got caught up in the rain. I walked for hours but in the end I desisted. The storm was making branches break down from the trees with the force of the wind and it was just too dangerous, so I decided to wait until it stopped." She makes a pause, biting the inside of her cheek. "When it didn't, I just knew I had to get back. I was completely drenched and I knew I was going to get severely sick if I didn't dispose of my wet clothes and get warmed up again soon." Regina chuckles lightly to herself. "I guess I was right after all."

"You scared the shit out of me, Regina." Emma finally admits. She sees no point in hiding it anymore, not when she's holding Regina's hand in her own; her fingertips caressing the soft, yet feverish skin of the brunette's hand.

Emma feels two honey brown eyes fix on her face so intently that they could burn a hole through her skull just if Regina willed it.

The blonde raises her eyes to meet Regina's. What she sees plastered in those beautiful brown orbs terrifies her, but she doesn't let her eyes drop again; she holds Regina's gaze, all the while grazing her knuckles on the back of Regina's hand.

For a long while, neither woman says a word. They stay like that, in complete silence, trying to figure out just what it is that is happening between them.

The spell is finally broken when Regina coughs, retrieving the hand that was being held by Emma and taking it to her mouth to cover it, as her body sags with tremors.

It's only then that Emma notices just how weak and tired Regina still looks. The woman has a natural tendency to look imposing even when she's sick, so Emma hadn't really paid attention to the small details that give her away.

"You should rest." Emma says, reaching over for the glass of water at their feet and handing it to Regina. "You still have a fever."

Regina drinks a few sips, then she hands back the glass to Emma and nods with her head, apparently not trusting her voice to sound confident and steady anymore. She immediately closes her eyes again and rests her head back against the cushions.

Emma takes the hint and stands up, gazing down at Regina's form as she does so. There are some stray locks of dark hair on Regina's face so Emma reaches with her hand to gently brush them behind the brunette's ear. She's about to move away and let Regina sleep off the rest of her fever when a hand grips her wrist, stopping her in mid track.

Emma turns to look at Regina again. She has her eyes open, though they look significantly softer. "Stay, please."

The request shocks her, mainly because it's coming from Regina: the woman who doesn't ask for help, the woman who never needs anyone but herself. She sounds so tired, so weakened by her fever now, that it almost makes her look like an entire different person.

Emma nods and smiles feebly at her. She sits down next to Regina, reassuming her previous spot on the couch. She stays, partially because Regina asked her to and partially because a strange, unnerving feeling inside of her tells her that she couldn't stray too far from her anymore, even if she wanted to.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Alright, new chapter! Sorry for the delay again. I'm starting my last month of university and things are getting wild. Nevertheless, I have the two following chapters already written so I only need to proof-read them, which means that I should update again within a week (At least until chapter 9). I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I don't wanna spoil anything but there's finally some action between our ladies *wink, wink***

**Important: Italics stand for dreams (bear this in mind for the last part of the chapter).**

**Ok, enjoy and let me know your thoughts!**

* * *

Emma looks up at the sky. Her eyes are wide shut. She lets out a heavy breath, trying to calm herself enough to stop the pounding of her heart.

When she opens them again, she feels more focused and in control of her own actions, which is precisely what she needs right now. Gripping the hatchet blade more firmly in her hand, she takes a few steps forward, all the while trying to not make a sound.

Her target is near, grazing absentmindedly just a few paces away from her, not aware of the threat that Emma's presence presents to its life.

Truth be told, Emma hasn't killed an animal since her time in Fairytale Land, so she's feeling rather anxious now - not so much about chasing away the doe - but for the moment which she has to leap for the kill.

Kneeling behind a thick bush to hide herself, Emma wishes she had Snow's bow and arrow right now. It would certainly make the unpleasant task of killing an innocent creature a little bit easier to carry out.

Emma breathes in deeply and exhales again.

The doe hasn't noticed her yet, which gives her the advantage, since she counts with the element of surprise for the time being. But she has to act soon, or the creature will get away.

_Damn_, she thinks, _so much for the tough Sheriff_.

She has to do this; she can't come back to the cabin empty handed. That's simply out of the question.

Emma is sick and tired of only eating fruits and seeds already and Regina may be all zen about it but Emma wasn't born for this healthy green eating habit. Her body craves for meat and crappy junk food, and if she can't have her usual Mac and Cheese, then she'll have meat instead.

Of course Regina had mocked her when she'd say she would go hunting into the woods, saying that Emma would end up chickening out. So it's pretty much a 'do it or live forever in shame' kind of thing for Emma, which can pretty much be translated into a matter of life and death for the blonde, especially when Regina is involved.

Emma doesn't even want to think about how much the brunette will tease her if she comes back empty handed. Probably she won't ever see the end of it.

Emma nods her head in self reassurance. She will do it. She will hunt this doe and bring it back to Regina with a triumphant smile on her face, and the brunette will have to admit to having underestimated her.

Yes, that's exactly what she's going to do. She's going to kill the doe and hung the dead body over her shoulders, like one would do a scarf.

Emma grins. She can already imagine the look of pure shock in Regina's face when she sees her emerging from the woods. It's going to be so much worth it.

Feeling victorious already, Emma tightens her grip on the blade and leaps on her prey.

**[x]**

Regina dives under water only to resurface a moment later. She takes a big gulp of air, refilling her lungs, and swims closer to the waterfall. She gets under the warm stream, letting the water wet her hair and body.

It's a sublime sensation, feeling the torrent of water pounding her shoulders and back; infinitely better than any masseur.

Ever since Emma showed her this earthly paradise a few weeks ago, she's been unable to keep her feet from moving in this direction, always finding herself standing at the foot of the pool, ready for a swim and later relaxation either on the shore or by doing precisely this: letting the torrent of water from the waterfall pound on her shoulders until feeling the knots there loosening.

Regina closes her eyes and lolls her head back, allowing the torrent to hit on the crown of her head.

The water feels just perfect, not too cold, and not too warm. She can spend hours just soaking there.

Regina runs her hands through her wet locks of hair, massaging her scalp in the process. This is one of the times she wishes she had all those silly products that she had back in Storybrooke, like shampoo. She definitely misses the subtle scent of honey and apples that her shampoo left in her hair when she bathed. Or soap. She wouldn't mind having a soap appearing in front of the cabin every week or so at all.

Instead, she resolves to coming down to the waterfall (she used to go to the river to bathe before Emma found this place) once or twice a day, until she feels her body is rid from the dirt and sweat of the day.

Living in the wilderness, despite being in possession of the comfortable cabin she's now extremely grateful to have, can be hard. Leaves get tangled in your hair; mud dirties your clothes, the sun makes you sweat endlessly and so on.

Life here is hard, but at least there are some perks to it: like this waterfall.

Regina sighs. Yes, she thinks, this place is a real gem.

**[x]**

Emma runs through the foliage, willing her legs to move faster. Sweat prickles her forehead; she's been running for a while now, trying to get to the waterfall where she knows is Regina. Her hatchet blade is in her hand; her grip strong, perhaps too strong. It betrays how she feels, the anxiety inside.

She needs to find Regina. She needs to tell her what she saw.

When she finally emerges from the woods, it's an entirely different sight that stuns Emma completely. She freezes on the spot, the blade nearly falling from her grasp, now dangerously loose in her grip.

Emma's eyes widen when Regina pulls herself from the water, her olive skin darker than usual thanks to their continuous exposure to the sun.

Regina's back is facing her and, as she rises, waters runs off her skin, highlighting her muscles, making her appear all the more beautiful.

Emma's mouth falls. It's not the first time she thinks of Regina as beautiful; she has never seen Regina as anything but, regardless of the nature of their relationship. After all, one thing does not directly affect the other. However, it is the first time that Emma's breath is literally taken from her lungs by the sight of another. It's even more confusing given the fact that it is Regina whom she's staring at so visibly dumbfounded, like a teenage girl with her first crush.

It's pathetic and it only gets worse when Regina turns around, naked, unaware of Emma's presence or eyes on her.

When honey brown eyes land on moss green ones Regina flinches in surprise and quickly wraps her arms around her torso to cover herself. Her hands and her panties are the only two things that are currently hiding her very naked body from Emma's eyes.

"Emma!" Regina chides, throwing her a dark and disapproving look.

The blonde finally seems to snap out of her reverie and turns around, granting Regina some privacy. "God, I'm sorry." She mumbles, feeling like an asshole for having been caught staring like that. She can feel her blood boiling both from embarrassment and something else she doesn't dare put a name to. _Desire_, perhaps?

"You can turn around now."

Emma obeys and slowly turns back around to face the brunette. Regina has put her clothes back on and now has her hands on her hips, looking very much pissed at her.

"What did you think you were doing?" Regina asks through gritted teeth. She's furious, if her pursed lips and the way her eyes have turned into slits is anything to go by.

"I, uh…" Emma averts her eyes from the brunette, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment. Suddenly, the reason why she came here running like the world was going to end doesn't seem so important anymore.

"Well?"

Emma sighs. She's gonna have to tell Regina the truth, no matter how it may sound now. Lifting her eyes again, she locks them on Regina's and says, "I went hunting…" Emma raises the hatchet blade to show it to the other woman and then lowers it back down again.

"Let me guess," Regina interrupts. She's not very well known for having patience, let alone when she's angry. "You couldn't do it."

"What?" Emma shifts in her position. "No, that's not it… I mean, I was about to do it. You know… kill the doe, but then I saw something."

"What was it?" Regina's icy tone seems to have faded a little. Now she sounds more preoccupied than before.

"A snake," Emma answers, trying not to recoil at the memory of that slithering and disgusting creature sliding through the grass, drawing near the doe she was about to hunt.

Regina snorts, causing Emma to gawk at her. How can she make fun of it? In all the months they've been trapped here, they'd never seen a snake. Maybe Regina doesn't care but Emma knows that snakes loose in the wild are never a good thing, especially if they turn out to be poisonous.

Up until now, both women had wandered through the woods with abandon, not caring about encountering danger at any turn but now, Emma's new discovery changes that dynamic completely. Now they'll have to keep an eye open and their ears trained at all times. Poisonous snakes can be deadly without proper medical assistance… which they lack of completely.

"I don't see how this can seem funny to you, Regina."

The brunette smirks and drops her sparkling brown eyes to the ground. She crosses the distance between her and Emma without raising her eyes. When Emma's feet come into her line of vision, Regina lifts her eyes, finding herself within breath distance from the blonde.

Regina is once again invading Emma's personal space, causing Emma's breath to hitch. The older woman locks eyes with the blonde, at the same time as her hand closes around Emma's wrist, the one in which she's holding the blade.

"It's fine if you couldn't do it, dear." Regina whispers in a way that seems almost seductively and provocative. Emma is sure that Regina is aiming for the latter. "You needn't lie to me about it."

What? So Regina thinks she made up the snake part up as an excuse for not having hunted the doe?

Emma shoves Regina away and walks past her, bumping her shoulder against hers as she does so. She's not going to let Regina deem her a liar just because she doesn't want to believe her. Maybe Regina will come across one or two snakes on the way back to the cabin and will have to bite back her words.

"I'm going home," Emma throws over her shoulder, not caring to chance a look back at the brunette, and disappears into the shrubbery.

**[x]**

The door to their cabin makes a faint clacking sound as it's closed.

Regina must be back.

Emma cracks an eye open. From where she's laying on the bed, with her back to the bedroom door, she can peek at the window in front of her. The waning sun is bathing half the room in darkness, but there's still some light left; enough to be able to see and make out the silhouettes of the objects around her.

She stays completely still, trying to make out Regina's movements in the adjacent room. It's taken the brunette at least two to three hours to come back home. Not that Emma was expecting her earlier, though. She figures that the brunette must have been avoiding her.

There's a small sizzling sound, followed by a few cracks. Regina must be poking the fire.

It's always hot in the island. There's no real need for the fire, except on rainy days, but the two women like to light it up just the same. It kind of helps to create a homey feeling that calms both of them down when they're edgy or feeling low.

The next thing Emma hears is the characteristic _tap-tap_ of footsteps drawing nearer. Regina is about to come inside the bedroom.

Emma presses her eyes shut again. She doesn't want to deal with the brunette right now. Maybe she's overreacting but she doesn't appreciate being called a liar. She did see that snake and it is something to be concerned about. Regina should try believing in her for a change.

The opposite side of the bed dips and Emma is sure that Regina must be sitting on the edge, taking off her clothes. Her heart starts to beat erratically in her chest, though she's not sure why. Maybe she just doesn't want Regina to realize that she's not as asleep as the brunette believes her to be.

Or maybe it's something else entirely.

It doesn't really matter though because Regina is already getting beneath the covers, trying not to wriggle around too much, possibly to not wake her. Emma's breath is caught in her throat when Regina's cold feet brush hers. The woman is far too close for comfort and Emma is afraid that the now frantic pounding of her heart will give her white lie away.

But Regina doesn't seem to notice. She sighs behind her and moves around a little, trying to get into a comfortable position. Emma remains motionless, all the while trying to get her heart to beat normally again.

It's somewhat of a habit that they've developed: to go to bed this early. They don't have electric lights or candles to light. So once the moon breaks in the horizon, the two of them make an effort to fall asleep. Sometimes it works; sometimes their old Storybrooke routines keep them up longer than intended. Today, it seems, both wanted to end the day even sooner than what they're getting used to doing; even before the sun fully set.

Emma shuts her eyes again. Regina thinks she's asleep and she probably should be. That's why she'd got into bed for this early in the first place. The only problem was that her mind had got tangled up in thoughts of Henry once again, stopping her from relaxing enough to fall into Morpheus' arms.

Soft, deep breathing next to her indicates that Regina has fallen asleep already. Emma envies her for it. She lets out a long and steady breath, trying to relax.

Emma is not sure of how much more time passes but, without really noticing, she eventually falls asleep too.

**[x]**

She wakes up feeling really hot, as if someone had turned on the heat to the maximum, which is literally impossible because they don't have one in the cabin.

Emma opens her eyes, blinking the sleep from them faster than ever. She's fully awake in a heartbeat, something that doesn't normally tend to happen, but now it does because there's a body pressed up against hers, which is alarmingly enough to awaken even a sloth.

But that's not all. It also turns out to be that it's not any body that is molded fitfully – and very snuggly – against hers though, it is Regina's, and it also happens to be the reason why Emma is almost sweating under the covers. The woman must have moved closer in her sleep and sought out Emma, though for what, she's not sure. Comfort, maybe?

Maybe the former Evil Queen was having a nightmare and had sought out comfort in the only person she could currently find it in, given their situation. But truth be told, Emma doesn't know. Perhaps she should wake Regina and find out.

Emma turns around on the bed to try and wake the brunette. Maybe it's the movement or maybe it's something else, but the moment Emma's back lays flat on the mattress, Regina scoots even closer to her, mumbling something unintelligible in her sleep and draping an arm over Emma's mid-section.

Emma's heart skips a beat when she feels some of Regina's wisps of hair tickling the side of her neck. The worst part comes when the brunette's hand settles against her stomach.

It's the worst part because it sends a wave of desire straight to her core, desire that Emma is pretty much sure she should not be feeling.

"Fuck," Emma breathes out almost inaudibly, closing her eyes and trying very hard to ignore the way in which her sex seems to be throbbing with need. If she thought that falling asleep was hard before, now the task has become downright impossible. How can she with Regina laying half on top of her like this? It's fucking torture.

Her right hand is buried beneath Regina's body but, fortunately for Emma, her left hand is still free. Moving as little as she can, Emma searches for the hand that Regina has lying on her stomach. She takes it in hers and begins to lift it up, in order to put some distance between them. The moment she does, however, Regina seems to stir a little beside her and Emma freezes, stopping her movements completely.

If Regina were to wake up and realize the position they're in, Emma is sure heads would roll and it would not be Regina's.

Emma waits until Regina settles again before moving. After a few attempts, she manages to lay Regina's hand next to her own body rather than on top of Emma's, like it was before. By now she knows that, if moving the brunette's hand was an insanely difficult task, getting her to roll over to the opposite side of the bed is going to be impossible. She might as well look for a needle on a haystack.

That might actually be easier.

She lets out a breath. Damn, Emma thinks. She's in for a very, very long night.

**[x]**

_Languid, loud moans fill the bedroom. Breaths hitch, hands move and grip forcefully. _

_A loud yelp of pain and pleasure breaks the silence of the room. _

_A body covers hers, sweat-prickled skin sliding across hers in a sensuous dance. An impatient mouth crashes into hers and they kiss passionately. Their tongues duel, teeth clash and lips bruise with their forcefulness. She moans into the kiss, opening her mouth even more, allowing her lover more room for the rough explorations. _

_Their kiss deepens and she feels a hot, wet tongue probing and tasting, taking all that she has to offer. Her own tongue is sucked into a warm, waiting mouth. Sharp teeth bite down and she wriggles beneath her lover's form. _

_A hand slips down their bodies, raking sharp nails across her soft olive skin. Fingers brush over pubic hair and slip further down, cupping her sex tightly, possessively. _

_She lets out a cry at the sensation and grinds her hips into her lover's hand. She won't be able to withstand her orgasm for much longer. She can feel it building in the pit of her stomach and spreading through her like an unstoppable wave bursting at the seams._

"_Look at me, Regina." A voice commands her and Regina complies, peeking through heavy lidded eyes._

_Blue/green eyes now dark with desire stare back at her. Blonde wisps of hair fall like a curtain around Emma's face, tickling Regina's skin. _

_Oh, God. What is she doing?_

"_Come for me, Regina." Emma purrs seductively in her ear and all Regina wants to do is push her off her body and run away. _

_But it's too late now. She can feel her muscles start contracting, her climax impossible to keep at bay anymore. Her back arches almost impossibly far off the bed and she cries out Emma's name in ecstasy, coming loud and hard, harder than ever before._

Regina awakes with a start. She opens her eyes and looks down. Much to her dismay, Emma's sleeping face is merely inches away from hers. But that's not all. Her right hand is cupping Emma's breast lightly, as if she'd been claiming the blonde's body in her sleep.

Horrified, Regina moves away from the blonde, but her movements are far too brusque and Emma begins to stir beneath her.

Green, sleepy eyes blink open and Regina freezes on the spot. She has one leg draped over the edge of the bed and the other bent over on the mattress. Her eyes are as wide open as those of a deer caught in the headlights, betraying the shock she's feeling inside.

"Regina?" Emma's thick-with-sleep voice breaks the silence and Regina holds her breath.

How on Earth is she supposed to explain what she'd been doing a moment ago?

She can't. There's nothing she can say to explain why she was dreaming of Emma's hot body on top of hers or why she woke up with her head tucked in the other woman's neck and her hand on her breast. Regina can only hope that Emma didn't notice.

The silence stretches and the question still hangs unanswered in the air. Emma seems to sense something is off because she pushes herself up into a sitting position and asks, "Are you ok?"

Regina knows Emma is leaving a perfect opening for her to lie straight to her face. It would be as easy as muttering a "Yes, fine," and that would be it. But when the first words that rise in her throat are exactly the opposite, Regina knows that the only choice left is to flee the room and avoid Emma until she can get a grip on herself again.

And that's what she does.

Regina springs from the bed, not even caring to put on some footwear, and runs out of the cabin, wearing nothing but her pajamas.

**[x]**

When she left the cabin, she did so in such a haste to get away from the blonde that she didn't even notice that dawn hadn't broken in the sky yet. She is dressed in her night clothes, she has no boots on and there is barely enough light to move as it is.

Well, she muses, too late to back down now.

Regina will be damned if she has to return to the cabin and face Emma, not only with thoughts of her sweat-prickled and very naked body still fresh on her mind, but also having to explain why she bolted from the bed like it was on fire.

It's not something she does. Regina Mills does not run. But Regina Mills doesn't also dream of her son's other mother having sex with her either. Anyone can agree that it's enough reason for anybody to want to run away like the world is going to end.

She lets her feet carry her to the waterfall. It's a much less predictable place for her to be at, should Emma start looking for her.

It's a warm night and the run through the woods has made her sweat.

Regina takes off her clothes, bare and sweaty skin glistening under the dim moon lit sky. She tosses her garments somewhere on the ground, not caring to see where they land and walks into the pool. She doesn't stop until the pool's transparent waters reach her torso.

The rushing sound of the water immediately produce the desired effect on her, calming her raging mind, soothing her tense muscles. Regina will never admit it, but she's grateful Emma chose to share this place with her. It _is_ paradise on Earth.

Regina closes her eyes and sighs, enjoying the feel of the water caressing her skin. The torrent of the cascade is so loud that it helps muffle the thoughts that attempt to rise in her head: thoughts about Henry, thoughts about Emma.

It's the latter who worries Regina the most right now. She finds herself inevitably drawn to the blonde, both mentally and now apparently physically too.

Ever since the day she found Emma getting off in this very same clearing, Regina hasn't been able to completely let go of the mental image that it burnt into her mind. For a while even, Regina would close her eyes and the image of Emma giving herself pleasure would appear in her mind's eye as clear as if she was seeing it live once again.

She's been trying to forget about what she saw but she finds that she can't. Thoughts of Emma naked, touching her own body, touching hers, are carved in her mind and now her dreams too.

Regina doesn't know how much is to blame on the solitude of being stranded on a deserted island and how much is to blame on herself and her own desires. Could it be that she really wants Emma in that way? Could it be that it's not the island, the seclusion, the need for sexual release what has her drawing closer and closer to the blonde each day?

She wonders what Henry would think of her right now. Possibly he'd be horrified. His evil mother thinking about hooking up with the mother he deems a Saviour. He'd most probably accuse her of corrupting Emma.

Then, her thoughts turn into another direction: Henry.

Emma had been so damn lucky in getting that one chance to see him. Regina wishes it'd been her, because seeing Henry, at least for one tiny second, would help ease her mind. Maybe even some of the constant tension she feels would ebb away too.

Regina is glad that at least they know he's fine; trapped in Neverland, but fine. She wonders what happened to Greg and Tamara, though. If Henry is free, it means that something has happened to those two. And it can't be good.

Emma told her that Henry was fine, that he even looked happy. Regina wishes she could feel the same way as her son: happy. But she doesn't. She's angry and worried and sad all the time. Sometimes she manages to forget, because the routines they have to carry out here keep her mind busy for the most part of the day, but there are other times when she has nothing but free time, and that's when the thoughts resurface, stronger than ever, wearing her out, tensing her up.

Regina is so caught up in these thoughts that she doesn't hear the water move behind her, but she startles when a warm hand snakes around her waist. Immediately, she tenses and her mind goes into full on alert-mode. She doesn't turn, she doesn't utter a word. She waits.

She waits for Emma's next move.

The blonde presses the front of her body against Regina's back. Two hard nipples brush across her skin and Regina gasps.

Emma is naked.

The realization doesn't help to ease her tense stance but, much to her surprise, it doesn't make her shove the blonde away either. Regina remains perfectly still; the only thing moving frantically is her heart, which is hammering in her chest.

Emma doesn't say a word either, perhaps because her lips are busy trailing a path from Regina's shoulder to the underside of her ear. When the goal is reached, a wet, warm tongue perks out of its hiding spot, coming to lick at the shell of Regina's ear and making her shiver.

A thought rises in Regina's mind then. This is wrong, they have to stop. She wriggles in Emma's arms, trying to break free from her loose hold on her.

"Don't," Emma whispers in her ear, stealing yet another involuntary shiver from the brunette.

It's like Regina is no longer in control of her own body, as if she's been reduced to this primal need to own and be owned. The thought scares her to death.

Emma seems to sense the change in the air because she presses her palm flat against her stomach, stopping Regina's feeble and half-hearted attempts at breaking free. "Stay," she whispers again, her breath tickling Regina's skin. And it sounds so hopeful, so honest.

And so she does. She stays.

Regina shuts down all the thoughts in her head: the ones telling her that what they're doing is wrong, that they have to stop now before is too late. For once, she decides to stay, to let go of her worries, her fears, and to dive into the unknown, the uncertainty that is Emma Swan.

Emma lets out a breath, long and steady, and her body relaxes, molding to Regina's back. The blonde's free hand finds purchase in her hip bone and she squeezes the flesh there, all the while pressing into Regina's backside with her hips.

Regina arches into Emma's body, letting her head drop and rest on the other woman's shoulder. The new position allows Emma more room to rake her hands across Regina's smooth skin, teasing, caressing every bit of skin she finds until she maps Regina's entire torso.

Emma's touches begin to grow more bold and confident with every expanse of flesh that she explores. It gives Regina the impression that Emma is also trying to wrap her mind around the idea that this is real, that this is happening.

And it _is_ happening, it _is_ real.

Regina tries to stifle a moan when she feels hands moving along her sides, sliding over her stomach, slowly traveling across her skin, before those very same hands grip her breasts, kneading the firm, rounded flesh, tweaking and pulling her stiff nipples until her legs buckle under her.

Emma tightens her hold on her, supporting most of their weights combined with one hand, as the other begins a journey down Regina's torso.

"I know," Emma groans into her ear, never once stopping her hand from moving further down.

The blonde's words snap Regina's mind back into attention.

"I woke up," Emma continues, as her fingers brush Regina's pubic hair, wild and untrimmed, "and found you…" she runs a finger through her folds, feeling with wonder the wetness accumulated there, "laying half on top of me."

Regina moans. A blush erupts in the skin of her neck and quickly spreads across her chest.

"You really thought I didn't notice?" Emma's thumb flicks over the sensitive nub between Regina's legs and the woman whimpers and presses her butt more firmly against Emma's crotch.

"Don't worry," Emma purrs seductively into her ear, "I wanted this too."

Then, it happens all at once. Regina turns in Emma's arms, clashing her mouth into the blonde's, at the same time as Emma inserts two fingers inside of her, causing her to moan into the heated kiss.

Regina is the first to open her mouth, wanting to claim Emma's, and the blonde is only too eager to comply. The kiss quickly escalates into a hot and passionate make out session, tongues fighting for dominance, teeth clashing and biting hard enough to pierce the skin, lips kissed hard enough to bruise.

Emma fastens the pace of her fingers, pumping them in and out of the brunette, enjoying the way Regina is reacting to her touch.

It doesn't take much longer from then on.

Regina sucks Emma's bottom lip into her mouth and bites down hard on it when her orgasm explodes inside of her, making her see white stars. Her knees give way with the force of her climax, so Emma wraps her arm more firmly around her and helps her get back on her feet once the last of the pleasurable waves of her orgasm die down.

When Regina's breathing returns to normal, Emma retrieves her fingers from within the brunette's sex and waits.

Regina slowly turns in Emma's arms, brown eyes finding green ones. Suddenly, the passion and abandon that had overtaken them both is gone, leaving them with awkwardness and hesitance.

It takes them a long moment to break the uncomfortable silence that has fallen between them.

Possibly knowing what is transpiring in Regina's mind, Emma says, "It's only sex, Regina."

Brown eyes widen at the statement.

"It doesn't mean anything else."

Hearing Emma lift the weight off their actions helps her let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She's thankful to the blonde for not trying to turn this moment into anything complicated or difficult to deal with. They both needed this, the release, the connection. They both know that, that's why the both gave in to it but they don't need or want anything out of it. It would only make matters more complicated than what they already are.

Right now, this new silent and tacit agreement between them is enough. Maybe time will tell a different story in the future but, for now, this is exactly what they need.

**[x]**

_A warm breeze blows in, and she breathes in deeply along with it, as if that is going to make her stop her own tears from spilling out. _

_Her eyes are trained on the sea, that stretches before her like a mirror, still and smooth. Today, there are hardly any waves and the afternoon sun is shining on the sea, stealing sparkling speckles from its waters. It makes the sight even more surreal than she sometimes finds it to be._

_Thanks to the waning sun, the purple glimmer of the magic veil is hardly visible in the distance. She's thankful for that. It's at least one less reminder of her loss._

_She doesn't even remember why she came here in the first place, but she doesn't really need a real reason to. Coming over to the cliff and hanging her legs over the edge has become second nature to her. _

_She wonders if she does it to torture herself, to remind herself of Henry's loss. She wouldn't put it past her to unconsciously be doing that just to hurt herself more than she does every day. After all, she was never good at letting things go. She's always worn her hurt skin deep._

_The thick grass behind her makes a crunching sound, which is followed by the sound of footsteps. _

_Two pairs._

_She doesn't have time to wipe her tears or put on a smile before she feels a tiny body hit her back, little arms wrapping around her form and holding tightly. _

"_Regina," Emma says, coming to a halt right behind her. There's worry in her voice._

_The brunette turns her head over her shoulder to look at a pair of big, wide blue/green eyes staring back at hers. Short, auburn locks frame a tiny, beautiful face that is currently smiling at her, oblivious to the sadness in her brown eyes._

"_I'm sorry. I couldn't keep her at the cabin." Emma adds, still standing behind her. "She's a tiny stubborn monster. No doubt she's yours."_

_Regina chuckles at Emma's comment, but doesn't tear her eyes from those sparkling blue/green ones locked on hers. Chubby, tiny baby's arms reach up and Regina takes the little girl into her lap._

_After two years of living in the island, the two women have become so used to the cliff that they don't worry about bringing the child with them here. They feel more comfortable and safe up here than possibly any other place in the island. _

_Finally, Emma moves and sits down beside her. She waits a moment before saying, "You're not replacing him, Regina."_

_The brunette tenses beside her, so Emma reaches out and takes her hand in hers, giving it a gentle but reassuring squeeze._

"_She came for a reason." As if on cue, the tiny body in Regina's arms moves a little, settling more comfortably against the woman's chest. Regina runs her free hand across soft auburn tresses, feeling the child relax under her ministrations. "She's not Henry's replacement, Regina." Emma whispers, letting go of the brunette's hand to cup her chin and draw those teary brown eyes to her. "She's your new hope."_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the reception this story's been having so far. I'm humbled by all the reviews, favorites and follows. It means the world to me!**

**Curious fact: The story originally started in this chapter. The seven chapters prior were an afterthought, but now I'm glad I decided to write them. Hope you guys are too.**

**Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts at the end!**

* * *

FOUR MONTHS AND TWO WEEKS LATER

* * *

_Laughter rings through the air. _

_The voices come through so loud and clear that Emma suddenly turns her head around, hoping to see someone standing behind her. Instead, she only finds an amber glow enveloping the trees around her like a lover's embrace._

_Emma squints her eyes, trying to adjust them to the glowing bright light. She takes a good look around and notices she's standing in the middle of the woods, her hatchet blade on her right hand. _

_Emma's green eyes drift downwards, to gaze at the edge of the blade, and she wonders what she's doing there, so far off into the woods._

_The laughter echoes through the foliage again, breaking her out of her absorption. It seems to her that those unknown, joyous voices are being carried away to her by the wind. She finds herself curiously drawn to them. _

_Emma lets the blade slip from her hand absentmindedly and, as it falls, the tip buries itself limply onto the grass. As if deep in trance, her green eyes instinctively search the direction of the sound. She now knows with certainty that has to reach them; there's no room in her mind for anything else._

_Emma begins to walk through the woods slowly, allowing the sound of the voices to guide her. _

_The laughter grows louder as Emma draws nearer, always being seemingly directed by an invisible pull. Finally, the trees begin to give way and a very large clearing appears in front of her. Emma is quick to hide behind a tree trunk, not wanting to make herself visible to the two laughing figures in the distance._

_There, in the middle of the clearing, lie Regina and… somebody else. _

_Emma narrows her eyes and presses her body closer to the tree, trying to get a better look at the pair but, no matter how hard she tries, she cannot see the other person from where she's standing. She knows, though, by the high pitched sound of his voice, that it belongs to a child. _

_She is not sure why she doesn't just step out of her hiding spot and greets them, but she suspects it has to do with being afraid of ruining the happy image before her._

_She most certainly cannot ever remember seeing Regina look so utterly peaceful and happy before. It's like she belongs there, in that clearing, with the sun shining down on her, stealing sparks from her dark hair, and laughing like she hasn't got a care in the world._

_Emma's fingers tighten around the bark of the tree. She wants to join them so badly but something is preventing her from it._

_It suddenly dawns on her that this might very well be Regina's happy ending._

_And that she is looking at it from afar._

Emma opens her eyes and blinks a few times to adjust herself to the light streaming from the window. With her mind still foggy from her dream, she rolls over on the bed and flings an arm over to the opposite side. Her hand lands flatly on the cold sheets instead of the warm body she'd been expecting to find there.

Grunting, Emma finally blinks the last of her sleep away and props herself up on one elbow. She scans the small bedroom with her eyes.

Regina's not there.

It's not like she's not used to waking up to an empty bed. After all, Regina is the earliest riser that she's ever known in her life but, on top of that, Emma also knows that the brunette wanted to gather some seeds for today because they were out of food.

Shaking her head a few times to clear the cobwebs of sleep, Emma gets up from the bed and picks up her jacket from the floor, where she had carelessly tossed it before. She walks over to the window as she puts it on and takes a look at the sun.

The moment her eyes find the slowly waning orb of light, a sinking feeling hits her deep in her gut. Emma's heart stops beating for a few seconds when she remembers which day this is. Regina wasn't gathering seeds, she was at the cliff. And the fact that it was dusk already…

She's lost so many hours while she slept. She shouldn't… she shouldn't be here.

"Oh God," Emma breathes out, raking both hands through her hair in shock. "Oh God, no."

Emma quickly fetches her boots and sits back on the mattress to quickly put them on. There's no more time to waste. She ties the laces into a messy knot and jumps from the bed again.

She's an idiot. How could she sleep for almost an entire day? _This_ entire day?

It's true that she hadn't been sleeping well for the past week. Thoughts about this day kept her up night after night, which resulted in her only ever managing to get a few hours of sleep at times each day. However, that isn't a good excuse for not being at the cliff with Regina right now.

She's in such a rush to leave the cabin and join the brunette at the cliff that she almost forgets the stupid thing she'd been making for the past few nights after Regina had gone to bed and insomnia would strike.

Sprinting back into the bedroom, Emma fetches her leather satchel and then runs to the kitchen, where she'd left the small package of leaves she'd prepared to wrap the thing inside the day before.

Emma places the package inside the satchel, careful not to squash it in her haste, and heads outside, moving as fast as her legs would carry her.

Before jumping the three porch steps, the blonde woman snatches her blade from the log she'd left it on and then dashes toward the woods.

Emma is thankful for having her blade and for almost knowing the way by heart because, otherwise, the trek uphill would most probably end up with her injured or lost. She moves through the trees and bushes with ease, only having to cut a few loose twigs with her blade here and there to clear the way.

When she's half way uphill, the sun is low on the horizon and about to set completely, but there is still time to get to the cliff before it gives way to the absolute darkness that covers the island when night settles in.

Emma fastens her pace for the last part of the trek though, just in case. She's not worried about having to move in the dark, but she obviously prefers to move while there's still sunlight, especially when she's running, rather than walking. It's certainly safer and much faster.

Cutting one last errant branch that was blocking her way, Emma steps out of the woods and into the small cliff. As expected, she finds the brunette woman there, sitting with her legs hanging over the edge and her back facing her.

Emma throws the blade to the ground, watching as the tip buries itself on the earth, much like it had in her dream. Her chest is heaving a little; she's out of breath. A thin layer of sweat covers her forehead and Emma brushes the back of her hand across the skin there, ridding herself of the annoying beads.

Then, Emma sighs and walks closer to the edge, dropping down to sit by Regina's side. If the other woman feels her presence, she doesn't show it. Her eyes are lost on the land below, a land full of life, where the sun always shines and time never ticks life away.

_Neverland_.

"Hey," Emma whispers. Her voice sounds small and tentative, afraid that she might break Regina and the heavy atmosphere surrounding them if she speaks any louder.

The brunette doesn't acknowledge her or shows any signs of having heard her at all. Her hazel brown eyes remain fixed on the land below, where waves of dark water wash the shoreline time and again.

"Regina," Emma calls more firmly this time, as she brushes the knuckles of her left hand across the older woman's upper arm. Regina flinches slightly at the contact, causing the blonde to automatically retrieve her hand and look at her worriedly. "Are you ok?"

It's a stupid question, really. Of course Regina's not ok, neither is she, but Emma feels the need to ask nonetheless, probably because she doesn't know what else to do. She wants to comfort the other woman but Regina's state of mind is currently as fragile and dangerous as the cliff they're sitting on.

When Regina finally turns to look at her, her brown eyes are red rimmed from having been crying for hours nonstop, but filled with renewed tears nonetheless. Emma purses her lips at the sight; she doesn't like to see Regina suffer. She never did though, not even when they hated each other's guts.

"I can't do this anymore, Emma." Regina says brokenly as hot and heavy tears spring from her eyes.

The blonde's heart leaps in her chest and she gives in to the burning feeling of comforting the older woman, so she drapes an arm around her shoulders and brings the distressed brunette closer to her.

Regina fights her for a moment, probably not wanting to be seen as weak, but Emma is not having any of that right now and instead tightens her hold on her, stopping her from moving away.

After almost a year of sharing more than a roof together, Emma has learnt a few things about the former Evil Queen. One of them is that Regina feels more deeply than anyone she has ever met before. That's how she knows that, right now, Regina is completely devastated and needs to feel someone, anyone, close to her. It's not the case for her; she's never let anyone come close to her before, let alone lowered her guard in front of anybody, no matter how badly she could be hurting.

Emma is feeling as utterly destroyed as the brunette is. However, she has her beloved blade and all the trees in the forest to unleash her fury onto later.

"Yes, you can." Emma offers weakly, feeling the wetness of Regina's tears as they land on her shirt. "One day at a time, remember?" She cups Regina's cheek with her hand and forces her to meet her gaze.

The brunette complies, albeit reluctantly, and brown, bleary orbs meet lush green ones. They hold each other's gaze for a long minute and then Regina squirms feebly in her hold, trying to break away from Emma's embrace. Emma lets her this time and Regina's eyes drift back to the land behind the purple veil.

Emma follows her line of sight and they stay in silence for a long couple of minutes, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

They've tried everything to try and cross to the other land but nothing has worked so far. For almost a year they had tried, time and again, every little thing they could think of. And they had seen all their hopes shatter to pieces every single time.

Emma knows that, out of the two of them, Regina is probably the one feeling more worthless right now. She is powerless in a land without magic and the purple veil in the middle of the two seas cuts off the only humanly possible way they have of reaching Neverland.

They are both literally trapped in this island, without means of escape, without knowing what happened to Snow, Charming, Hook or Rumple, and without being able to do absolutely anything to get to Henry.

However, both of them still hold hopes of finding a way back to their families, of rescuing Henry and being whole again.

It's precisely that thought, of never losing hope, which rises in the back of Emma's mind and prompts her to say, "We will find a way, sooner or later." The heavy silence that had befallen around them breaks and Emma redirects Regina's attention back to her, "I promise you we will find it."

Regina bores her brown eyes into Emma's intently, trying to see if Emma is being honest about her promise. She seems to think so in the end because she leans in and slowly buries her head in the crook of Emma's neck.

The blonde sighs in relief. Regina is so volatile that Emma is always afraid that the brunette will someday revert to her old ways. That hasn't happened so far, yet old habits die hard, and Emma is constantly fearful that there will come a time when Regina won't be able to stand Henry's loss and go back to being the Evil Queen.

It doesn't go by unnoticed to Emma how it is most probably that hope of being reunited with Henry again what keeps Regina from going full-on Evil Queen mode again. However, Emma is sure Regina's hope is waning and withering a little more each day.

Emma leans her head against the brunette's as another thought crosses her mind: she has to prevent Regina from losing hope. She doesn't even want to find out what would happen to the brunette if she does.

They stay in that position until the sun is no longer visible above the horizon line, neither one of them needing to say anything, just merely enjoying this seemingly ephemeral moment of peace, as they watch the clouds turn a beautiful shade of pink in the sky.

After some minutes, Emma notices that Regina's breathing has become so deep and shallow that she believes her to be asleep, but a small movement of the brunette's head tells her otherwise.

Emma thinks it's the perfect time to show Regina what she made for her, with the intention to bring a smile to her face in this awful day.

"Hey," Emma whispers softly against her ear. "You awake?"

Regina nods her head once against the crook of Emma's neck, brushing her soft hair against Emma's tanned skin.

"I have something for you," Emma says, which prompts Regina to look at her in the eyes.

When she realizes that she has the brunette's attention, Emma fishes into her satchel and retrieves the small package made with the leaves. Carefully, she removes the leaves to uncover the thing inside and tosses them to the floor.

"Look what I made," Emma makes an effort to smile as she shows Regina a small - and poorly made - local version of a cupcake with a thick white thread as a candle. Needless to say, it's not edible, since they lack most of the ingredients to make a real cupcake in the island. However, the cupcake does resemble a real one in its appearance, which is what Emma was aiming for.

The blonde's smile widens in spite of herself when the older woman raises a skeptical eyebrow at her.

"What is _that_ supposed to be?" Regina asks and, even though her eyes are still puffy and her voice rough from all the crying, she still manages to sound imposing; always every bit the queen, no matter the circumstances.

Emma scoots closer to the brunette and brings the cupcake to their eye-level, "Hey! What do you mean by that?" The blonde asks a little defensively and, if Regina didn't know her any better, she'd say she could see a pout beginning to form in those pinkish lips. "It's a birthday cupcake." She brings the muffin closer to Regina's eyes, as if wanting to further prove that her little monstrosity is actually an edible muffin, but Regina's only response is to arch her eyebrows even higher, if that's even possible.

Emma chuckles lightly at Regina's scowling expression and says, "Back in Boston…" but trails off and shakes her head. She decides to start again. "Do you remember the day we first met?"

Regina nods with her head once, waiting in silence to see where this is all going.

"That day had been my birthday and I'd made a wish-"

"To not be alone on your birthday," Regina finishes for her. "I know, dear."

Emma nods, surprised that the brunette still remembers the words she'd said to her in what seems like a decade ago, "Yeah." She makes a pause, thinking about her next words carefully before saying them, knowing the kind of impact they'll have on the brunette once they leave her mouth. "Well, I know you probably wanted to pretend this day never happened but I can't let you do that… He wouldn't." Emma points with her head to the dark shores of Neverland.

Regina shifts uncomfortably beside her and Emma knows she has less than a minute to finish what she wants to say before the brunette either snaps at her or gets up and storms off into the woods. So, she rapidly blurts out, "I made a wish on my twenty-eighth birthday, Regina, and it came _true_." Emma's green eyes shine brightly under the moonlight, the memory of her little boy knocking on her door still fresh in her mind.

Regina doesn't reply but she doesn't snap at her either, which Emma takes as a positive sign.

Emma lifts the cupcake a little higher and the brunette's eyes drift from Emma's green and hopeful ones to the cupcake in her hand. Regina looks at it for a long moment, until Emma watches how Regina's red lips part in shock and wonder, finally seeing the cupcake for what it truly is: their last chance.

"Emma," she says in a small voice, lifting her head to lock eyes with the blonde again. Regina sounds fearful and apprehensive, and her brown eyes glaze over with yet more tears.

"No," Emma grabs Regina's hand and places the cupcake in it, forcing the brunette to take it from her. "It worked once," she bores her eyes into Regina's, almost pleadingly.

Emma is aware of what she is asking the brunette to do and she also knows just how much Regina wants to believe in this, in her. Should this not work, the older woman will be crushed. But Emma needs to hold on to this, because it's the last thing that they have yet to try. Everything else has failed. If this fails too… Well, she doesn't even want to analyze that option because this _has_ to work. It's their last hope she has of bringing Henry back from Neverland.

"What if…?" Regina's mind is going over the same thoughts as hers.

_What if it doesn't work? What if we realize we are never getting him back? What if?_ But 'what ifs' will always remain a doubt until proven otherwise, for better or worse. They need to try this, even if it means assuming the worst.

Emma refuses to entertain those thoughts anymore. They've been assaulting her mind ever since she came up with the idea and she's just had enough. She would rather try and fail than not try at all and live with the uncertainty of what could have happened if they had.

"Just close your eyes and make a wish," Emma lights the improvised candle with one of the matches they were saving and sits back on her heels, waiting for the brunette to make the wish. "It'll be ok."

Regina looks at the blonde for a lingering moment but then she tears her gaze away and brings the small cupcake closer to her face. She lets out a shuddering breath and closes her eyes.

Emma watches the brunette close her eyes and try to concentrate on the wish she's about to make, but then those brown and teary eyes are blinking open again and Emma knows Regina won't do it, won't make the wish.

Emma shakes her head. She can't let Regina balk on her now.

Before Regina's eyes can open again, Emma covers the brunette's hands with her own, trapping the cupcake between their joint hands. Regina visibly relaxes at the contact and her brown eyes never open. Instead, Emma sees how the vein in Regina's forehead pops up in concentration.

* * *

"_Just close your eyes and make a wish," Emma lights the improvised candle with one of the matches they were saving and sits back on her heels, waiting for the brunette to make the wish. "It'll be ok."_

Regina looks at the blonde for a lingering moment. She doesn't understand where exactly Emma is trying to go with all this or why would the blonde ask her, of all people, to make a wish she has half a heart to believe will come true. She's not the savior, she's not hope impersonated. Whenever she had to choose either to hope for a better future or to strike in revenge, she'd chosen the latter, every single time.

Regina wonders why Emma trusts her with this when she should be the one making the wish, not her. But then something snaps in her mind and her eyes widen ever so slightly. She tears her gaze away from Emma's and brings the small cupcake closer to her face.

If Emma the savior - Emma the product of True Love - is entrusting her with this it must mean that she believes in her enough to do this right. That's something no one had ever done for her. She lets out a shuddering breath and closes her eyes.

If Emma believes in her, then she's willing to try too.

Regina tries to concentrate on the task at hand but her mind keeps railing with negative thoughts, telling her that she will not do this right, that she will fail both Emma and Henry as well. She's about to open her eyes and tell Emma that she should do it instead, when she feels a pair of warm hands cover hers tenderly.

The unexpected contact prevents Regina from opening her eyes and fills her with a strange feeling inside. It's as if Emma was pouring all of her hope and trust into her. She relaxes and her eyes remain tightly shut.

Regina thinks of Henry, her beautiful boy. She pictures his face in her mind's eye, his hazel eyes, and his honest smile. She tries to bring forth all of the good memories she shared with him, the first time she held him in her arms as a tiny wailing thing, his first word, the way his hand clung to hers on his first day of school. She tries to remember his voice, his love for her and, more importantly, everything that he's always meant in her life.

To Regina, Henry has always been the love she was refused as a child. He is the chance at a new beginning she always craved for herself. But, above all else, he is her hope. Hope for love, hope for happiness, hope for a happy ending.

With all those happy thoughts and memories in her mind, Regina makes a wish and finally blows the candle.

When the brunette opens her eyes again, she finds Emma looking intently at her. Her eyebrows are furrowed and Regina is sure of what's going on inside the blonde's head.

The brunette sets the cupcake aside and takes Emma's hands in hers, trying to convey both her gratitude for the gesture and as much reassurance as she can. It doesn't go by unnoticed to the brunette how Emma just selflessly entrusted her with the last chance they have of recuperating Henry, and that is such a grand gesture that Regina cannot even begin to process it in her mind. So, when words uncharacteristically fail her, she does the only thing she can think of to thank Emma: she kisses her.

The blonde doesn't respond to the kiss at first, but then she relaxes into it and slides her fingers through dark locks to bring the other woman closer to her body. Emma opens her mouth and deepens the kiss. The blonde immediately notices how Regina tastes of salt and tears, which only urges her to flush their bodies closer, until not even a needle fits between them.

Regina needs this, they both need this. After all, it was the need to connect after losing Henry what brought them together the first time. It's only fitting that the need to re-connect is surfacing stronger than right now, on a day like this, when his absence is noticed even more than usual.

Without breaking the kiss, Emma unlaces the front of Regina's simple dress with expert fingers and slowly slides it down the brunette's body, until it pools at their feet on the ground.

Once she's bare, the blonde moves forward, covering Regina's body with hers, and brings them both down to lie on the grass.

Regina sighs when her heated skin comes in contact with the coolness of the grass and Emma moves to straddle the brunette's lap. She makes quick work of her own laces and disposes herself of all her garments, until she's naked in all her glory.

Emma searches for Regina's eyes and they hold each other's gaze for a long minute. A silent conversation transpires between them, one they are not ready to voice yet.

"Have faith," Emma whispers to Regina, as she looks down at her glassy brown eyes. New tears are beginning to roll down the brunette's cheeks. Not wanting to see more of them streaming down the brunette's face; Emma leans down, covering Regina's body with hers. "Have hope," she repeats softly and kisses one of Regina's tears away. Her left hand begins to trace a path up the brunette's torso and she whispers, "Don't ever lose hope, Regina." Emma kisses Regina's cheeks again, catching all the tears rolling down her face, and then uses her thumb to brush away the tear tracks left by them.

"Emma," Regina breathes out brokenly with her eyelids heavily closed.

Once she's sure no more tears will spring from the brunette's eyes, Emma moves down and starts kissing and nipping at the brunette's neck, while her nails rake Regina's side.

Emma knows that Regina needs to feel her everywhere and all at once. She wants to feel possessed, to disconnect from her reality. Emma knows she can give all that to her but that, at the end of the night, it won't make her feel any better. Regina needs something else and Emma plans on giving it to her.

They are used to turn sex into yet another battlefield, a fight for dominance and control. This time, however, under Emma's lead, they take it slowly, acknowledging the need to feel things rather than take them. They work each other at a steady pace, touching, kissing, feeling and, by the time Emma enters the brunette with two fingers, Regina is panting heavily and her olive skin glistens under the moonlight.

It doesn't take much longer from then on.

Feeling her climax nearing, Regina bends her leg upwards and urges Emma to grind against her. The brunette suddenly feels a strange warmth building up inside of her, something she has never felt before, and she arches her back, biting down hard on Emma's shoulder to stifle a loud moan.

Inner walls clench around her fingers and Emma instantly follows the brunette in ecstasy, collapsing over Regina's sweat-prickled body and burying her head in the crook of the older woman's neck, as she struggles to catch her breath.

They remain motionless for a very long time, limbs intertwined in a tangled mess and breathing heavily. It's finally Emma who rolls over to the side to lie on her back, mirroring Regina's position next to her.

They stay in silence, chests no longer heaving, merely gazing at the stars in the sky above.

There's a slight chill in the air. It's beginning to get cold to be outside.

"We should probably head back home," Emma breaks the silence, turning her head to chance a look at the brunette, who is quiet and still.

Regina doesn't reply. Instead, she turns slightly to the side and looks at Emma in the eyes.

The blonde instantly notices how Regina's hazel eyes sparkle under the moonlight, filled with unshed tears again.

"I'd like to stay," she says in a small voice that cracks with emotion.

She doesn't need to add anything else. The blonde knows that Regina cannot find the strength in her to put any more distance with their son than they already have, especially not on what is left of his birthday.

Emma nods her head and opens her arms in a silent invitation for the brunette to move closer. Normally, Regina would scowl at her and turn the opposite direction. Tonight, however, her walls are down and she welcomes the contact.

Regina rests her head on Emma's shoulder and drapes an arm over her waist to get more comfortable.

Exhaustion lures the brunette into a dreamless sleep faster than expected but, before Emma allows her own tiredness to settle in, she tightens her hold on the older woman's body and whispers almost inaudibly in her ear, "Happy birthday, Regina."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So sorry for the long wait. If only I could begin to explain how insane these past two weeks (and the two following ones) were and will be for me, you'd fall flat on your butt xD I'm just saying. Thank God I had this one half way written out already or else who knows when I would have been able to post it. If I'm alive by next week, I'll start writing the next chapter. Needless to say, your continuous support is what gives me the motivation to try to update faster, even when I'm drowning with exams and projects to finish. So thank you! And keem 'em coming.**

* * *

By the time Emma returns from the woods, arms full with carefully piled chopped logs, it's already mid-morning and the sun is high in the sky.

A couple of weeks have passed since the night on the cliff and neither she nor the brunette has dared bringing the delicate subject of Regina's birthday up again. Emma is not much of a talker when it comes to her problems, so she knows better than to force Regina into opening up about how she feels. Their coexistence is delicate enough as it is.

Emma sets the logs inside a wooden box by the porch and opens the door to their small cabin.

"Hey, I brought some more logs in case the night got-" the blonde trails off, taking a quick look around the room and immediately noticing she's alone inside.

The brunette's absence calls Emma's attention because she should be long back from gathering fruits and seeds by now.

Suddenly, there's a rapid movement behind the couch, like a blur of white. Emma immediately smiles and kneels on the floor, "Hey, Mr. Rabbit," she extends her hands out to the furry creature as it pokes its head out from his hiding spot behind the couch. "Come here, buddy."

Mr. Rabbit looks at her with wide eyes for a moment, but sprints into a run toward the blonde's waiting arms a second later.

* * *

**THREE WEEKS AGO**

* * *

Regina looks out the window. According to the position of the sun, it should be some time around dusk. Leaning back down on the mattress, she sighs and turns her head to the door of the bedroom.

Emma's not back yet but she should be any moment now.

Regina gets on her feet and heads to the porch. The blonde had been very serious when she said she would go hunting. She'd actually said she'd come back with meat for them.

Regina is not a fan of meat, except when it's part of her lasagna and, even then, that only requires a very small amount of it. She prefers eating vegetables, always has. So she doesn't really mind that this island is forcing them to eat healthily, she's used to it anyway. But Emma, well Emma is a different matter altogether.

The blonde has probably never eaten mushrooms in her entire life, let alone been forced to eat vegetables and fruits on a daily basis. It is possibly driving the woman insane which, in turn, only manages to amuse Regina. There's definitely something about seeing Emma so utterly frustrated that she finds completely exhilarating.

That's why when Emma had picked up the blade from the table and stated she was going hunting – finally, after all her half assed attempts at going hunting before – Regina had nearly but burst into a fit of laughter. The blonde had looked deadly serious and Regina just had to mock her, she couldn't help it. Emma looked positively ridiculous and, what's more, Regina knew the blonde wouldn't be able to digest killing an animal like that. She thinks it's barbaric, even for Emma Swan.

Regina sits gracefully down in the only wicker chair that there is in the porch in order to wait for Emma. She will not miss the walk of shame from the blonde even if she were paid.

Half an hour must have passed by before Emma finally makes her appearance from out of the woods. She emerges from the north side, so Regina has a privileged view of the blonde from where she's sitting. She leans back and rests her arms at either side of the chair, crossing one leg over the other.

She's doing this on purpose. Regina looks every bit the Queen she once was and she knows that her imposing stance will make Emma feel even more embarrassed than what she already seems to be.

The blonde is practically dragging her feet through the grass, heading for the cabin in a straight line. Her eyes are trained on the ground as she walks, not daring to meet Regina's sparkling ones. In her arms there's a rabbit, a pretty much _alive_ rabbit.

Regina smirks in satisfaction as she takes in the sight of Emma's flushed cheeks and the furry ball of white hair she's trying to hide in her arms, unsuccessfully that is. Right now, the Savior looks like a child who has been caught red handed. But the brunette is enjoying it, oh yes, she's enjoying every second of it. That's why she lets Emma walk up to her without saying a word until their feet are almost touching. Only then Regina decides to break the silence.

"I see you caught yourself a rabbit." The smug tone she uses, coupled with the punch line, makes Emma snap her head up to look at her in the eyes.

"Oh come on, Regina!" She protests, gesturing to the rabbit in her arms, "I couldn't do it, alright?"

Regina's eyes snap to the furry creature lying in Emma's arms and glares at it with disdain. She's not particularly fond of woodland creatures and anybody can guess why.

"I can see that, dear," Regina smirks at the flustered blonde, who looks completely uncomfortable under her disapproving gaze. "No meat for today, I guess?"

Emma scowls and shifts from one foot to the other, looking more uncomfortable by the passing second, just as the rabbit seems to be growing restless in her arms.

"I'llcatchussomethingelsetomorrow," Emma mumbles under her breath all in one breath. Her cheeks are flushed red with shame and her eyes downcast.

Regina uncrosses her legs and leans forward in her seat. She's enjoying this far too much. "What was that, dear?" She presses with a smug smile plastered on her face, feigning not having heard her.

Emma sighs in irritation - because she knows that Regina is playing with her just for the fun of it - and raises her eyes pointedly at her, "I said I will catch us something else tomorrow." Her tone of voice says she's reached her limit. She's clearly ashamed that she failed but will not be having Regina's mockery anymore.

Regina looks at her in silence for a moment and then she flops back down on the seat again. She's done teasing her anyway.

"Look," Emma starts again, "I was _this_ close to…" Emma closes the rabbits ears with one hand and presses the animal closer to her chest, seemingly not wanting it to hear what she's about to say. "_Kill_ him." Emma whispers, chancing a look to the rabbit. Then, she looks up at Regina again. "But look at him, Regina," the brunette frowns and purses her lips as she glances at the furry animal, who has its head buried under Emma's armpit. "He's so fucking cute!"

Regina suddenly springs from her seat in alarm, "For the love of God, Emma, you sound just like your mother." She rounds the blonde and points with her hand to the white rabbit, "What in the world did you bring that white ball of hair here for, if it is not to eat him?"

Emma stumbles on her words, as she tries to get them out. "Uh…I…Regina…"

Regina's eyes widen. She already knows where this is going and she is not, for the life of her, going to let it happen. "Oh, no," She walks closer to the blonde, who is cradling the rabbit like a baby in her arms. Yes, she can read it in those mischievous green eyes in front of her. "No, no, no." Regina points to the white rabbit as her eyes narrow. She is _not_ allowing this to happen.

"Come on, Regina, don't be like that."

The brunette's mouth falls. How can Emma even want that disgusting tiny white ball of hair? "No, that thing is _not_ staying with us, Emma."

* * *

Emma lifts the rabbit into her arms and hugs him tightly to her chest, "Where the hell have you been?" She asks as she pats the rabbit's head affectionately, "I've missed you!"

The white furry animal looks at Emma with its wide eyes and the blonde snaps her tongue at the rabbit's expression.

"Don't give me that look," Emma says, "You don't know how she's been like these past few weeks," The blonde walks to the window with the animal held dearly against her chest. She gazes outside, as if half expecting for Regina to appear out of thin air and yell at her about something as trivial as leaving her blade on the floor instead of over the log she usually leaves it on. "She's driving me insane," Emma exhales.

Ever since that night on the cliff, Regina had been constantly on edge, snapping at her for whatever reason, demanding that Emma hunt more meat than usual, and waving off all the attempts at having sex that Emma had tried so far. The latter is the part that has Emma troubled the most, since they hadn't stopped having sex after the first time they'd spent together, five months ago.

"Do you think she got tired of me?" Emma gazes at Mr. Rabbit who is dozing off in her arms, cocooned by the warmth her body irradiates. "Well, thanks for your help, buddy."

The blonde looks at the rabbit once more and then turns around, eyes locking on the couch. Since the furry creature is asleep and Regina's not home, she might as well leave the animal sleeping on the couch; is not like the brunette is there to yell at her right now anyway.

After leaving Mr. Rabbit on the couch, Emma heads back outside. Maybe Regina just wants some alone time but it is midday and, since she's not there, Emma doesn't know whether to cook the pig she caught yesterday or to wait for the fruits and seeds that Regina was supposed to come back with an hour ago.

With the way she's been lately, Emma doesn't want to risk having another discussion with the brunette, so she walks straight for the woods to find her.

Emma thinks that Regina might be at the cliff, so she heads there first but when she reaches the place, she finds it empty.

"Where the hell is she?" Emma scratches the back of her head as she tries to think like the brunette. It's one of the things she learnt as a bounty hunter, to think like the people she was paid to hunt down.

What confuses the blonde is that she knows that Regina is very constant with their routines, never altering nor breaking them. This morning, for example, Regina had headed to the forest to collect some fruits and seeds like she often does. It is one of the chores that the brunette assigned for herself, since she doesn't trust Emma enough to distinguish the edible leaves from the poisonous ones, and she should have been back by now. It's a simple chore, so it's not like it takes much time.

That's when it occurs to Emma that maybe something bad happened to the brunette.

The thought of Regina injured – or worse – stirs something inside her. Emma has been living with the other woman for more than a year and their relationship has evolved in that period of time. She has grown used to having the brunette around, with her sharp comments and bossy attitude. If something were to happen to her…

Emma sprints into a run through the forest. She doesn't want to think about losing the brunette, she refuses to lose her.

"Regina!" Emma calls at the bottom of her lungs as she runs through the woods. Her eyes roam in every direction, desperately searching for any trace of the brunette. "Regina!"

Emma can hear the distinctive sound of the river's current nearby and decides to check if the brunette is down there. She descends down the hill as carefully as she can, not wanting to trip with any fallen branches, and she immediately spots her.

Regina is on her knees on a big flat rock and hunching over the riverside. Her left hand is on the rock, supporting her weight, and her right one is holding her hair back from her face.

Emma sighs as she hears rather than sees the other woman empty all the contents of her stomach into the water. It's rather disgusting but at least she's not hurt.

She slowly makes for the rock and comes to stand behind the brunette's back. She kneels beside Regina and takes her brown locks from the brunette's hand, so that the older woman can support herself better on the rock. Emma places her free hand on the small of Regina's back and rubs it soothingly.

When she's done, Regina groans and slides the back of her hand across her lips. Hazel eyes meet lush green ones, and Emma notices how Regina's normal olive skin looks pale and clammy.

"Are you alright?" Emma asks as she takes Regina by the arm and helps her up.

"Yes," Regina answers feebly, her voice low and raspy, as she lets Emma guide her away from the riverside. "I told you that meat wasn't well cooked last night."

Emma stops abruptly and turns to face the brunette, "Don't you dare pinning this on me, Regina. You're the one acting like a freaking cannibal all of a sudden."

The brunette's eyes flare and she yanks her arm free from Emma's hold, "I'll walk myself back home, Miss Swan."

Emma watches the brunette whirl around and head straight for the woods.

The blonde walks after the fuming brunette, "Don't _Miss Swan_ me, Regina."

Regina just continues walking further into the forest, not even turning to address the other woman.

"Come on!" Emma exclaims in exasperation. She can't believe how much of a thickheaded person Regina can be sometimes, especially when her damn pride is involved.

For a moment, Emma stops chasing her and, instead, watches her walk away. She thinks that it might be better to just let Regina head back home alone and let her use the trek back to cool her temper. She's about to turn and head back to the river to calm down herself, when she sees Regina sway and lean heavily on a tree for support.

"Regina?" Emma sprints into a jog, trying to catch up with the brunette who, for some reason, is still hugging the trunk as if for dear life.

When she reaches Regina's side, Emma notices that the other woman has her eyes closed and that the vein in her temple is popping up, as if her heart were racing in her chest. She also notices that Regina's knuckles are beginning to turn white with the force she's applying in order to grip the tree.

"Regina?" Emma calls again, this time more softly, as she places a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

Regina doesn't open her eyes like Emma is expecting her to. Instead, she lets out a shuddering breath and whispers in a shaky voice, "I don't think I'm feeling well."

Emma snorts, "I think that's an understatement."

Regina opens her eyes slightly and turns to glare at the blonde, "If you're here to make fun of me…"

"Stop barking, Regina," Emma takes the brunette by the elbow to help her stand, "I think we both know by now that you bark too much and bite too little."

Regina is about to protest when Emma interrupts her, "Don't," she warns, "Just shut up and let me help you."

For once, Regina does as she's told.

* * *

Emma enters the bedroom almost on her tiptoes, trying to not to make a sound, all the while keeping an eye on the tray of food she's carrying and at the same time trying not to step on Mr. Rabbit, who is trudging along.

Regina is still napping; she's been for at least two to three hours. She looks better, though, and her skin has recovered its natural color.

Emma deposits the tray by Regina's side and sits at the foot of the bed.

The brunette seems to feel her presence because her eyes open slowly and lock on Emma's green ones, then Regina's hazel eyes fall onto the furry creature sitting casually on the blonde's lap.

"Look who's back," she says sarcastically as she gets into a sitting position, all the while glaring at the rabbit.

"Hey!" Emma lowers the rabbit's ears to stop him from hearing. "He's been keeping me company while you were out."

Regina sits back against the headboard and sets her hands casually on her lap, "Well, now I'm awake, so that white ball of hair can find its way out of my cabin."

As if on cue, Mr. Rabbit wriggles under Emma's hands, trying to break free from her loose hold on him. Emma lifts her hands, allowing the rabbit space to move, and the furry creature makes good use of the granted liberty to jump from Emma's lap and onto the floor. As soon as its tiny paws hit the wood, he runs out of the room.

"You offended Mr. Rabbit," Emma says, eyes trained on the door where the rabbit had just run out from.

Regina buffs, rolling her eyes.

Emma turns to the brunette and pushes the tray of food closer to her. "I brought you something to eat."

There are a couple of apples and tangerines on the tray, as well as a cup of tea that is steaming. Regina glances at the food being offered to her and she smiles at Emma.

"Thank you," Regina picks the reddest apple from the tray and takes the fruit to her mouth.

Emma watches the brunette take a huge bite off the apple and then reach out with her hand for the cup of tea, but it turns out to be too far off from her reach, so Emma takes the cup herself and bends over the tray separating them to hand it over to her.

"So, wanna tell me what happened out there?"

Regina takes a gulp of the hot liquid and swallows it down before leaving the bitten apple back on the tray and reaching for a tangerine instead.

"I believe I already told you," the brunette peels off the skin of the fruit with her hands and takes a segment to her waiting lips.

"Yeah, uncooked meat," Emma bites the inside of her cheek, pensively.

She always cooks the meat the same way and, so far, she hasn't received any complaints from Regina. What's more, Emma is absolutely sure that the meat she made for dinner last night was indeed well cooked. She had ate it herself, had tasted it, and the meat was perfectly fine. So, it has to be something else.

"Hungry?" Emma lifts an eyebrow in amusement as she watches the brunette munch eagerly on the fruit, as if there is literally no tomorrow.

Regina tilts her head but doesn't avert her eyes from the tangerine she's currently devouring, "Famished, actually."

"I noticed," Emma chuckles, "Want me to bring some more?" she turns her head over her shoulder and points to the door, signaling the kitchen on the adjacent room, "I think there are some bananas in the kit-" she stops cold when she feels Regina's lips on her shoulder, "Regina?" Emma can feel Regina's fruit soaked lips trailing a path up to her neck, making the blonde squirm under her touch. "Regi-What are you doing?"

When Emma turns to gaze at the brunette, she sees that Regina has set the tray aside and is so close to the blonde's body that her front is almost pressed up against Emma's back.

There's a glimmer in Regina's eyes, her pupils are almost fully dilated and she's smirking, causing Emma to feel like a prey about to be devoured. The intensity of the brunette's gaze is so strong that, for a moment, Emma has to avert her eyes. Her green orbs set on the tray, where the bitten apple and a half eaten tangerine lay, along with the rest of the untouched food.

"I thought you were hungry," Emma's eyes slowly make their way back to the brunette's.

Regina bends forward, crawling like a feline toward Emma. She closes the distance between them, aiming for the blonde's lips, "Oh, you have _no_ idea."

With the annoying morning sun on her face, Emma cracks an eye open and glances at the still sleeping brunette. She has her arm loosely draped around Regina's waist and her front is pressed snugly against the brunette's back. Her entire body is sore and it hurts in places Emma wasn't even aware she had until now.

Stealing another glance at the brunette, Emma sighs and runs her fingertips across smooth olive skin.

Regina kept her up until an ungodly hour last night; she didn't stop until Emma dropped dead with exhaustion on top of her and called it quits. She was insatiable. It was as if she was suddenly the hormone-raging teen that she always teases Emma to be.

Emma chuckles and decides she's going to make her good action of the day. She's going to bring Regina breakfast to bed.

Sliding off from the mattress, careful not to move the bed too much, Emma slips on her skin boots and pads to the kitchen.

As she goes about making breakfast for the brunette, her mind travels back to some hazy memories from last night. Regina had requested her to perform some very unusual things, things she hadn't asked the blonde before. It's not like Emma minds, quite the contrary, she found it thrilling and invigorating at the time. It's just that she finds it odd.

Emma squeezes the orange one last time, filling the glass with the juice completely. Then, she deposits the vase in the tray and takes it by the handles.

As she makes for the door to their bedroom, Emma addresses the fact that something is definitely going on with Regina. She just doesn't know what yet, but she's going to find out.

Pretty much in the same fashion she'd done yesterday, Emma sets the tray on the mattress, next to the sleeping brunette and takes a seat beside her.

Regina doesn't stir though, so Emma places a hand on the other woman's ankle and runs her fingers up and down, trying to get a reaction from her.

Hazel eyes blink open ever so slowly and Emma stops her ministrations upon seeing the other woman finally waking up, but leaves her hand on Regina's ankle nonetheless.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

Regina groans and shuts her eyes again, causing the blonde to laugh.

"I brought you breakfast to bed, _your majesty_," Regina opens her eyes and lifts her head from the pillow to chance a look at the smiling blonde and the tray of food in front of her.

As soon as her hazel eyes set on the scrambled eggs, Regina's eyebrows knit together and her brow creases dramatically.

Emma watches Regina's expression turn from sleepy to full-on alert mode in a second. The woman's face makes her smirk, "I promise they are not poisonous," Emma quips, "I wouldn't want to copycat you."

Regina doesn't laugh or joke back. Instead, her face turns a dangerous shade of green and she bolts from the bed, nearly tossing the tray over in her haste, and dashes out of the bedroom.

Emma steadies the tray back on the mattress but doesn't wait a second more and chases after the brunette.

She finds Regina just around the porch, throwing up.

Emma sighs and walks up to her, setting a comforting hand on the brunette's lower back.

"Again, huh?" she asks, frowning at the retching sounds Regina is making. "Guess you can't blame it on my cooking anymore."

When she's done, Regina wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and straightens herself up as regally as she can. She feels rather weak and queasy still, her stomach is in knots and she's pretty sure that her face is covered in a thin layer of sweat, but she still manages to look imposing, as if she hadn't just vomited yesterday's meal all over the grass.

Regina turns around on her heels to face the smirking blonde in front of her. Her lips are pursed into a thin line and her eyebrows furrowed together. Just one look from the brunette is enough to make Emma's face fall and gulp audibly instead. The woman looks positively evil.

Emma makes a mental note not to tease Regina when she's throwing up.

To try and make amends with the glaring brunette, Emma offers up her arm to her, which Regina begrudgingly takes, and helps her back into the cabin.

Regina refuses to go back to bed, insisting that she's feeling better already, so after rinsing her mouth, Emma watches her plop down on the couch and sigh blissfully against the comfortable white cushions as she heads for the kitchen.

It's pretty clear to Emma by now that Regina cannot manage solid food for the time being but she still needs to eat something. She thinks the best solution is making some tea for the both of them, instead.

Emma heats up some water and waits with her back pressed against the counter until it starts to boil.

"You know?" she asks, reaching out with her hand for some mint leaves in the upper counter, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're pregnant."

Emma takes a few leaves from the jar Regina keeps them in and turns her head over her shoulder to chance a look at the brunette.

Regina shifts uncomfortably and snorts, "That's ridiculous," comes the instant reply. "I know you like to brag about your sexual expertise but not even you are that good, my dear."

Emma laughs lightly as she makes a pot of tea with the mint leaves and doles it out. Her hands curl around the two hot mugs and she walks over to the now smirking brunette, handing her one of the steaming cups.

Regina takes the offered mug with both hands and nods dimly to Emma in gratitude, falling back down onto the crest rail and taking the first sip of the hot liquid.

Emma sits on the opposite end of the couch and leans back, letting the cushions support her weight. "Maybe you're underestimating the power of true love's magic, Regina," Emma deadpans, smiling lopsidedly at the obvious distaste forming on the brunette's face.

Regina blows into her tea, managing to remain characteristically stoic and impassive. She takes another sip of the tea and raises her eyes to glance at Emma, who is still smirking.

"So, first I'm pregnant and now I'm your true love?" Regina asks sarcastically, raising her eyebrows even higher, conveying her skepticism. "I think your uncooked meat poisoned us both, dear." She smiles condescendingly at the blonde, indicating that she feels sorry for the delusions she's suffering thanks to the food poisoning, and then goes back to her hot mug.

Emma runs her tongue across her front teeth and shakes her head, trying to swallow down Regina's sassy comments. "No. I meant that since I'm the product of true love and my magic is of the most powerful kind, combined with all the rabbit sex we've been having lately, then maybe…" Emma trails off. The teasing theory is way too complicated so as to voice it out loud. She prefers to let it drop altogether and let the brunette win than to end up tongue-tied herself. "Forget it."

Regina throws her an earth-shitting grin and deposits the now empty mug on the floor. "I'll let it pass," she says as she watches Emma sip from her own mug.

Emma is doing her best to not look at the brunette. She can feel those hazel eyes fixed intently on her, more precisely on her lips and the way she's sipping away from her tea. She avoids her for a couple of minutes but Regina doesn't relent and, inevitably, Emma grows way too uncomfortable under the brunette's intense scrutiny so as to keep pretending not to have noticed.

"What?" Emma asks, letting her irritation show.

Regina shrugs and averts her eyes in indifference. "Nothing, dear. I just thought you might want to show me all that you meant by _rabbit-sex_." She purrs the last part, batting her lashes hedonically at the blonde, who gulps involuntarily and almost loses her grip on the mug.

"You mean n-now?" Emma mumbles as she watches Regina get on her feet and take the mug from her hands.

The brunette sets the mug on the floor and takes Emma by the hand, urging her to stand.

"Yes, Sheriff," she whispers seductively in Emma's ear. "_Right now_."

Emma grins and allows the brunette to push their bodies flush in one fluid motion. The blonde gasps when her chest collides against Regina's and the brunette makes good use of the blonde's open mouth to slip her tongue past it.

Regina kisses Emma forcefully, all the while grabbing her by the waist and pulling her even closer to her. Emma takes only a second to react to the mind-numbing kiss and she responds by sliding her tongue against the former Queen's eagerly. They kiss until they have to break for air and Emma gazes at the brunette in front of her with heavy lidded eyes.

It's amazing the effect this woman has on her. She sets her on fire every time; though Emma believes she has some of that effect on the brunette as well, if the way her chest is heaving is anything to go by.

Without further warning, Emma shoves the brunette hard against the wall behind her and Regina gasps when her back collides against it. Emma presses her hips into Regina's hard, and the brunette moans in delight, eyes closing at the sensation.

The blonde tangles her fingers in the brunette's hair and darts the tip of her tongue out to swipe it against olive toned flesh. Regina grinds her hips involuntarily against Emma's as a response and slips her hand under the hem of Emma's shirt. Her nails start traveling up, raking and scratching the exposed skin along the way. When Regina's hands round a perfect breast, Emma moans against her neck and runs her tongue across the side of her throat.

Regina grins at the reactions she's evoking from the younger woman and it also encourages her to move her hands higher to cup both mounds of flesh and squeeze them relentlessly. She pinches Emma's right nipple and pulls at it, causing the blonde to squirm under her touch. Then, she repeats the same action with the other breast, not wanting it to feel neglected. She continues doing this until Emma is panting heavily, with her nose nuzzling Regina's neck.

When she pulls her hands away to remove Emma's shirt off, the blonde grips both her wrists with surprising strength and pins them both at the brunette's side.

"Oh, no," she whispers against the brunette's ear and then takes the lobe into her mouth, biting down on it with her teeth. She releases it with an audible pop. "Not today."

Emma takes a step away from the brunette, eyeing her with predatory hunger. She licks her lips wantonly and Regina gasps at the sight. Then, Emma grips the hem of Regina's night gown with both her hands and rips it apart, the buttons landing unceremoniously on the floor and scattering all around the room.

The motion leaves Regina naked from the waist up, perfect breasts heaving under Emma's watchful gaze.

The blonde takes Regina by the upper arm and turns her around forcefully, leaving it completely clear that she's in charge now and will not like a retaliation.

Regina lets Emma whirl her around and use her own body to press her tightly against the wall. Emma grinds her hips against Regina's buttocks and the brunette moans enthusiastically, encouraging the blonde to do it again. Emma repeats the action once more, this time pushing harder and eliciting yet another moan from the brunette.

Emma tucks her lips close to Regina's ear and whispers, "You like that, don't you?"

Regina's only response is a whimper, which causes the blonde to chuckle lightly.

Emma's hands sneak around the brunette's torso and cup two perfectly round breasts. She squeezes hard on the mounds of flesh and Regina arches herself into Emma's touch. The younger woman presses herself into Regina and lowers her head to suck on Regina's pulse point, all the while squeezing her breasts.

Regina tilts her head to the side and uses one of her free hands to rake her fingers through Emma's blonde locks, forcing her to tear her mouth away from her neck and meet her for an earth-shattering kiss.

As her tongue finds purchase inside Regina's mouth, Emma slips one hand down the brunette's torso and stomach, caressing every inch of exposed skin she finds there. Her hand travels further down, slipping past the brunette's waistband and further down, into the moisture she finds pooling there.

Regina breaks the kiss and moans loudly, which only prompts Emma to brush the heel of her hand against the brunette's sensitive ball of nerves. She brushes her fingers across Regina's clit a few times, enjoying the way the older woman squirms beneath her touch, and pinches her nipple to heighten the sensation.

"Emma," Regina whispers, eyes heavily lidded and chest heaving.

The blonde feels her panties dampen at the unmasked need in the brunette's voice. Her body reacts on its own by rolling her hips forward into Regina's backside and her hand slips further down, until she feels Regina's excitement coating her fingers.

"Yes," Regina hisses in pleasure at the prospect of being filled by the blonde and Emma wastes no time in inserting three fingers deep within the brunette.

Regina groans at the sudden intrusion and Emma stills her movements for a moment, until she feels Regina's walls stretching and adjusting to her, as well as more dampness coating her digits.

"Gods, Regina," Emma closes her eyes at the pleasurable sensation of being inside the brunette, and begins to thrust her fingers in and out the other woman, at the same time that her hips acquire a life of their own and start rocking against Regina's butt.

Regina's legs begin to tremble under her, so Emma uses her free hand to wrap it around the brunette's waist to hold her in place, as she fastens her pace.

"Harder," Regina pleads and Emma complies only too eagerly. She thrusts her fingers in and out, faster and deeper, using her thumb to circle Regina's clit lightly.

Regina moans loudly and lets her head loll back, resting on Emma's shoulder. The blonde can feel Regina's climax nearing so she curls her fingers upward and thrusts hard and fast a few more times until Regina's walls clench around her and she cries out in ecstasy. Her legs give way and Emma eases them both down to the floor, all the while helping Regina ride out her orgasm.

As Emma kneels on the floor, Regina rests her back against the blonde's front, with Emma's hand still buried deep within her. She lets out a shuddering breath when Emma's fingers finally pull out from her and snakes an arm around the blonde's neck to bring her mouth down for a bruising kiss.

When they part, Emma sees that Regina's eyes are still closed and that she's licking her lips as if she were savoring the blonde's taste.

It's not many times that Emma sits down to think just how beautiful the other woman is but, right now, sated and content, with a few dark locks plastered on her face and cheeks flushed, Emma realizes that Regina Mills is one of the most beautiful women she's even seen.

"I think I understand the rabbit-sex analogy now," Regina's voice snaps Emma back to attention.

The blonde smiles and wraps her arms more tightly against Regina's body. That they are still lying on the floor together comes as a surprise for both of them but they can blame it on exhaustion, if they so wish it.

"It's a good analogy," Emma replies, stifling a yawn. Maybe she's more tired than she thought she was. After all, Regina did keep her up for the longer part of the night.

"Tired already, dear?" Regina turns in her arms, a wicked smile etched on her face.

Emma cocks her head and smiles sheepishly at the brunette. She is tired but she won't admit it so easily to the other woman. She knows Regina, more than she ever thought she would, that's why Emma knows that the woman is putting up a challenge in which admitting tiredness means admitting defeat, and Emma hates losing just as much as Regina does.

"Why?" Emma asks, feigning indifference. "Up for another round?"

Regina grins and leans in to peck Emma in the lips, "Perhaps."

Emma grabs Regina's shoulders and flips them over in one rapid movement. When the brunette's back hits the wood, she gasps in surprise and Emma smirks, enjoying the look on Regina's face.

"Then bring it on."

* * *

**Notes: And I guess we can all take for granted three things:**

**1- Regina apparently gave in to "adopting" the Rabbit.**

**2- Emma is in fact Snow White's daughter, if the way she named the rabbit is anything to go by.**

**3- Emma did keep her word about going hunting and ended up food poisoning Regina, or did she? ;)**

**Let me hear your thoughts! **


End file.
